Forbidden Love
by Xx-Sharingan-xX
Summary: Sakura was a princess.Sasuke was homeless.Somehow, they fell in love. The problem: Sakura's already engaged. SasuSaku, rated T for Language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey people. I know I'm writing my other story; Naruto: My Version, but I wanted to start a new story as well. This one is also SasuSaku. This one has nothing to do with the actual story. Anywaays, enjoy =)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or the song Everytime. **

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Chapter 1

Sakura Haruno was your average princess. Well, maybe not your average princess. Most average people don't have pink hair and emerald green eyes. But other than her appearance, Sakura was an average princess. She hated her life, because she wasn't able to express who she really was. What she wanted more than anything was to be an average human being. She could live without all the luxuries, and all the clothes. She just wanted to be her, and not the person she was now. The real reason for this was one of her legal guardians; her uncle. He was the king of the palace. Sakura's real father had died of an unknown disease, and Sakura's mother really couldn't do much for Sakura. Sakura's mother had been a normal villager that her father had one day met. They instantly fell in love. When they got married, Sakura's father's parents were furious. It had taken awhile for her mother to be accepted into the Haruno kingdom. But when she was, her husband had passed away. All Sakura knew about her dad was that he was a big rebel, and like her, he hated royalty. When Sakura had been a young girl, her mother would often tell her stories about her father. Sakura wanted to be just like him.

So, Sakura wondered why her uncle was so different. After all, they were brothers. But, she found that they were 2 completely different people. Her uncle was strict about everything, and made sure that Sakura was perfect. She hated this of course, but nonetheless, she obeyed her uncle.

Well, almost obeyed her uncle. Sakura's uncle did not know that Sakura would go for walks in the village. He had warned her of people that may try and kidnap her, but she didn't care. She could take care of herself. To avoid people staring at her, Sakura would always wear casual dresses whenever she went for walks.

This particular afternoon, Sakura wore a plain, white, spaghetti strap dress, with a white sunhat. She went outside, and then went at the back of the castle. There was a spot here that the cameras could not see. She went out that way towards the village.

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Sakura had always been amazed about the wonderful things in the village. There were so many street performers, and puppet shows, and magic tricks. The palace was nothing compared to the wonderful things the village offered. There was one place in particular that Sakura enjoyed, and that was the beach. The ocean was so beautiful to her, and so amazing. It was so vast, and stretched out so far. When the sun would set, the place would be even more beautiful. There was always a violin player that would play right when the sun set and it really added to the whole thing. He played the violin so beautifully. Sakura wanted to ask him his name, but always chickened out. She gave him money every single day, and thanked him for the wonderful performance.

Sakura would always do the same thing every day. After watching the sunset this particular evening, the man that played the violin beckoned towards him. Sakura blushed, and went towards him.

"Hello" She shyly said. Sakura looked at the man carefully today. She noticed how handsome he was. He had onyx eyes, and raven hair, that stuck out at the back. He was wearing a white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, that had the first 2 buttons undone, and he was wearing black pants. She also noticed that he looked the same age as her.

"Hey. You come here every day, but I don't think I know your name. Mines Sasuke" he said.

"My name is Sakura Ha-"she stopped. She didn't want anyone to know she was the Haruno princess. "I'm Sakura"

"Well then Sakura-san, it's a pleasure to meet you" he bowed.

"Thank you, but please, just call me Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet you to, Sasuke-kun. You play the violin very beautifully."

"Thank you Sakura-sa- Sakura. Um... hey, if you don't need to go right away, would you like to walk along the beach with me?"

"Sure, I'd love to!"

Sakura was amazed at how polite he was. But something told her he was being fake. He didn't seem like that polite of a guy.

After picking up his money and violin, he swung his violin on his back.

"Shall we?"

She nodded, and started walking with him.

"So, Sasuke-ku..." she was interrupted

"Aa, if I have to call you Sakura, then you have to call me Sasuke" he said.

I blushed. "Okay, _Sasuke_, where do you live?"

"Playing 10 questions hey? Alright, but then I get to ask you 10 questions too"

She nodded.

"I... I don't have a house, I live on the streets"

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't know..." she was interrupted again.

"No need to apologize, of course you didn't know"

She smiled. "Okay, so are you alone?"

"Yea. My whole family's dead"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to... I'm so sorry, obviously I can't ask any good questions"

He smirked. "Sakura, don't worry about it. Of course you'd want to know that stuff, don't worry, keep going"

Sakura was embarrassed. She didn't want it to be like this, but nonetheless, she asked another question. "How long have you been playing violin?"

"10 years"

"How old are you?"

"16"

"Favourite color?"

"Blue"

"Do you spike your hair?"

"Nope, it naturally sticks out"

"Morning, afternoon, or evening?"

"Evening"

"Pie or cake?"

"Cake"

She thought about if she should ask her next question, but in the end decided to.  
"Are you faking being this polite? Be honest"

Sasuke sighed. "So, you're on to me eh. How'd you guess?"

"You just don't seem like that"

"Aa. Well, I wanted to make a good first impression."

"That's sweet"

"So, my turn now?"

"Nope, I still have one more question."

He chuckled. "Okay"

"What do you think about me?"

"I think you're a beautiful girl, that's hiding some secret, and that not showing her true self"

She looked at him. "What makes you think that?"

"The way you talk, the way you walk how your questions keep changing. It makes it obvious"

She didn't say anything.

"Well, my turn now. What are you hiding?"

"Do you really have to know?"

"Yup"

She sighed. "I'm... Princess Haruno"

He smirked. "Thought so"

"Oh... wait what?"

"You're too polite, and you don't stutter at all when you talk. To be like that, you'd have to be her. Not to mention you look exactly like her"

Wow, she thought. This guy was good. "Next question" she said.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to talk to you. I didn't want you to feel different, and talk differently just because I'm a princess"

"Aa, okay, I understand. Favourite hobby?"

"Watching the sunset"

"That's not a hobby"

"Okay then, I also like to sing..."

"Will you sing a song for me?"

"No"

"Please?"

"No"

"Come on, I answered all of your questions. And you listen to me play violin every day. Consider this my payment"

Sakura sighed. "Fine, but if you laugh, I'll kill you"

"Fair enough"

So, Sakura sung. It was the most beautiful song Sasuke had ever heard. Her voice was amazing.

"Every time I try to fly, I fall  
Without my wings, I feel so small  
I guess I need you, baby  
And every time I see you in my dreams  
I see your face, it's haunting me  
I guess I need you, baby"

"That was... beautiful" he said.

Sakura blushed. "Thank you"

"Did you write that song by yourself?"

"Yes"

"Who's it for?"

"No one"

"Oh come on Sakura, you have to answer truthfully"

"It's the truth"

"But it's a love song"

"It's not for a lover"

"Then, that means it is for someone"

Sakura sighed. "It's for my father"

"Oh. Oh right, he passed away right?"

"Yes"

"Do you miss him?"

"I never really knew him, but I know that with him, my life would be much funner"

"Why do you think that?"

"My father was a rebel, kind of like me. Well, he was much braver than me though. He used to run away a lot. And he had a very fun attitude."

"And your uncle is the exact opposite, right?"

"Yes, and with that, your 10 questions are up"

Sasuke frowned. "But..."

"Your fault, not mine"

Sasuke smiled." Yea, your right."

"Well then, I guess I should go now. I don't want my uncle to send a search party or anything..."

Sasuke chuckled. "Yea, wouldn't want that."

"Well, bye then" Sakura bowed, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Sasuke called. Then he started to blush. "Um, I was wondering that if you weren't busy tomorrow, if you wanted to hang out?"

"Sure, I'd love to!"

"Okay, well, how about you meet me here, at about 10:00?"

"Okay, see you then" She smiled.

"Yea" He smiled back.

And for the rest of the way back to the castle, all Sakura did was smile.

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**And thats all for chapter one. REVIEWW PLEASEE . **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to ****Psychotic-Demon**** who reviewed my last chapter. Sorry for taking so long to update, but here you go, chapter 2 of Forbidden Love**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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Chapter 2

Sakura was nervously walking to the throne room. Her uncle had asked for her to talk to him immediately, so Sakura was scared that her uncle might have found out about her trips to the village, since she had stayed out a bit too long today. Once she got there, her uncle was sitting on his throne.

"You asked for me uncle?" She said innocently.

"Ahh yes, my dear sweet Sakura. I wanted to talk about why-"he was cut off.

"Sire, an important message has arrived for you" said one of his servants, carrying the message on a pillow.

"Bring it here then"

The servant walked towards him, and kneed down so the king could get the message. He picked it up and started to read it.

"Another important meeting I see. Very well, Kisimaru, prepare a carriage for me to take off tomorrow. It seems as though the Mishigawa kingdom and the Toya kingdom are going through some tough times."

"But why? Those kingdoms have always had more than enough money" Sakura said.

"Yes my dear, this isn't about their own kingdoms, it's about the feuds between the 2"

"Ugh, not again" The Mishigawa kingdom and the Toya kingdom constantly bickered with each other. There kingdoms were very close to each other, so they would always fight over the lumber, fish, water, and all those sorts of things.

"Yes, very troublesome indeed. Well then I should start getting ready. Bye Sakura, I shall see you when I get back" he said as he went out through the door.

Sakura sighed a sigh of relief. She was safe, or at least, safe until her uncle got home. Then a thought hit her. Her uncle was going away, and the trip to the master council was a good 3 days journey, and it meant he'd most likely stay there for at least 2 days , and then another 3 days to get back. That meant Sakura had...8 days of freedom! She wanted to jump for joy, but she knew that if anyone saw her, she'd look like a complete idiot. But, this also meant 8 days of going out to see Sasuke, with no worries.

Sakura smiled on her way back to her room, and started to look for something to wear tomorrow.

* * *

Sakura stepped outside of the palace. It was a beautiful day. It was warm, but not too warm, and the sun was shining. Last night, it had taken Sakura a good 2 hours to find the perfect outfit. In the end she decided on a turquoise strapless sundress and a matching sunhat. The dress was plain, except for a flower in the top right corner. The flower was made out of rhinestones. She wore hoop earrings that went perfectly with her hair, which was let open like usual. And as for her shoes, they were just normal flip-flops. When Sakura got to the beach, she saw Sasuke waiting there for her. She decided to sneak up on him and try to scare him. Sadly it didn't work, because Sakura ended up tripping over a crab in the sand. Sasuke quickly ran to her aid.

"You know, for a princess, you're not all that graceful" Sasuke smirked while picking her up bridal style.

"Ha-ha, very funny" she said back while he put her down. She dusted the sand off of her dress, and out of her hair. Sasuke saw some sand on her hat and dusted it off for her.

"Hey, guess what" Sakura said.

"What?"

"My uncle is gonna be gone for 8 straight days. Isn't that great?" she said smiling.

Sasuke smiled to. "Yea, that must be"

"Yesterday, I was sooo close to getting in trouble for coming home late"

"You were gonna get in trouble? I'm sorry, it was all my fault"

"Don't worry about it, it probably wouldn't have been that bad, besides, my mom would've come and saved me anyways"

Sasuke laughed. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"Well, um... I really don't know, you're the one who lives in the village anyways"

"But you come out here like everyday"

"You've lived here your whole life while I've been hanging out with a bunch of arrogant princes and princesses."

"How do you know I've lived here my whole life?"

"I don't, I'm just guessing"

"Then you're a good guesser"

"Well, what are some cool places around here"

Sasuke thought for a minute. "Okay, I thought of a place"

"Okay, tell me what it is"

"Nope, it's a surprise"

"Sasukee!"

"Too bad. Just follow me"

Sakura followed him angrily. "Why does it have to be a surprise?"

"Because I said so"

"Hmph"

"Well then, tell me about yourself, this place is a 20 minute walk from here"

"Didn't we already play 10 questions yesterday?"

"Well yes, but I never found out everything about you"

"Okay then, ask me anything and I'll answer"

"Alright. Have you ever gone to school?"

"Uh, duh. But it was a really fancy school with a whole bunch of rich kids."

"Then, are you technically skipping right now?"

"No, I'm done"

"Oh, that explains it. Ever kissed a guy?"

"Y-wait what?"

"I asked if you ever kissed a guy"

"And why would I tell you that?"

"Because you said I could ask you anything, and you'd answer"

"Ugh. Fine... no, I haven't."

"REALLY?!" Sasuke looked amazed.

"Why is that so surprising?"

"Oh, no reason just thought that someone like you would've"

"And what does that mean?"

Sasuke blushed. "Well I just thought someone as pretty as you would be popular among guys"

Sakura laughed. "Sasuke, you have no idea how popular I was. But, I never went out with any of them. I couldn't"

"And why is that?"

"Reasons"

"Alright"

"Now it's my turn to ask you some questions"

"What?! I only asked like 2 questions though"

"And I asked none. Okay, have you ever kissed a girl?"

"Nope"

"Liar"

"I'm not lying"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, what makes you think I would? I'm a hobo in most people's eyes"

This was supposed to be a joke, but Sakura didn't laugh. "You are not a hobo, and if you ever say you are again, I'll kill you. And come on, your hot, some girl has got to have kissed you"

"I'm hot?"

"Yes, fairly hot"

"Well thank you, that's something coming from a highly picky princess"

"Excuse me? Who said I was highly picky?"

"Oh come on Sakura, it's obvious you never had a boyfriend because you were too picky"

This made Sakura furious. "For your information, I am not highly picky. You have no idea about who I am, so stop thinking you do."

"Sakura, I didn't say I did"

"Well stop making stupid assumptions then"

"Okay"

Silence

More silence

Then Sakura broke. "I'm sorry Sasuke, I shouldn't have yelled at you. That was very un-lady like, please forgive me"

Sasuke smirked. "You say sorry a lot" and then he flicked her on the forehead.

Sakura smiled.

"Okay, we're almost there, so now you have to close your eyes"

"WHAT?!"

"It's supposed to be a surprise"

"I hate you" But nonetheless, she closed her eyes shut.

Then Sasuke put his hands on her shoulders to guide her. His hands were so warm and strong, but they were also soft at the same time. And then Sakura thought something she knew she shouldn't have, and started to blush. Sasuke could see her face turning a bit red.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"Nothing" she said a little too quickly. Sasuke smirked.

Sasuke then stopped. "Okay Sakura, open your eyes now"

Sakura opened her eyes, and saw one of the beautifulest things ever.

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**Hehe, cliffy! Another fairly long chapter. Review please, they help me update faster.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for taking so long to update. It's just that its winter break, and I've gotten pretty lazy. But this is chapter has a lot of important stuff in it, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

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Chapter 3

Sakura opened her eyes, and what she saw was amazing. It was a heart shaped fountain, with the water pouring from the top, and from the left and right sides of the heart. But what really made it beautiful were the cherry blossom petals circling the fountain. They looked as if they were dancing around it.

"H-how is that even possible?"

"You mean the cherry blossoms? They come out from underground and there a air vent there too"

"Wow... its beautiful"

Sasuke smiled. "I thought you'd like it"

"I've never seen anything like this before. It's the prettiest thing ever!"

"No, I could think of something prettier"

"Which is?"

"Something"

"Hmph, fine don't tell me"

Sasuke smirked. "Let's go sit on that bench over there"

Sakura followed Sasuke, and they sat down.

"How long as this place been here?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know, since like forever"

"Then why have I never seen it?"

"Because you stay cooped up in your castle"

"Do not!"

"You know you do"

"Well it's not my fault. My uncle is just too strict. I'd be out way more if my dad was still alive."

"That's gotta suck. But then again, I can't exactly say you have a bad life. I'd do anything to have the life you have"

"Psh, you think royalty is all that great? Sure, I might get whatever I want, and have a lot of money, but I'd give it all up to have a normal life. At least that way I'd be free. Because I'm a princess, I'm not free to follow my own dreams, and live the life I wanna. I can never start my own career, because I'm the heiress to the Haruno kingdom. I'm engaged, so that means I have to marry whoever my uncle wants me too. This life is horrible; because your fate is sealed from the day you're born. Your whole life is already being discussed, and you have no say in it. All you have to do is go along with it, even if you really don't want to. I'd do anything to have the life you have"

"You think being homeless is good?"

"It's better than what I have to deal with"

"Sakura, stop thinking you actually know what being homeless is like. You have a family, friends, a place to call home. I have nothing. Nothing at all, I'm all alone. And that's something you'll never understand"

Sakura could tell Sasuke was getting mad. She didn't want to talk about the topic any further, but she felt like she had to. "Sasuke, I may not understand what loneliness is, but I know what it's like. I never said I-"

"You talk about your life as if it were nothing. You take the life you have for granted, when so many people would do anything to be in your spot. People die of disease every day. People are starving as we speak. People are slaves in some places in the world, and you think that you have a tough life?"

"Sasuke I... I never thought of it like that"

"Well why don't you before you start talking"

Sakura didn't say anything. Sasuke was right. She did take her life for granted. She knew how many people there were in the world with nothing at all. She also knew now that Sasuke probably hated her. She had said so much, without even considering his situation. This man, he made her realize how lucky she really was.

"So...you say you're engaged?" Sasuke finally said.

Sakura smiled. "You caught that?"

"Yup"

She sighed. "Yea, unfortunately I am"

"When you say it like that, it sounds like you don't like the guy"

"It's not that I don't like him. Me and Hikaru have been friends ever since we were little kids. I like him, but I don't love him. It's true that at a point I did, but that was when we were little kids. Never had I imagined that my uncle would set up my engagement with him"

"So then, if you don't love him, you must love someone else"

"No, I don't. I don't love anyone at the moment"

"Aa, I see. So that's why you never had a boyfriend"

"Yes, me and Hikaru went to the same school, so I never had a boyfriend"

"What about Hikaru? Did he ever have a girlfriend?"

Sakura hesitated, and then looked away. "Yes, he did. He had quite a few actually"

"What the hell? Then why wouldn't you tell your uncle? Or tell him to not date?"

"Because I always thought my uncle had been kidding when he would say one day you and Hikaru will be married. My uncle didn't tell me the engagement was actually confirmed until high school"

"So then did Hikaru stop dating other girls?"

"No, he didn't. In fact, he became a monster in high school. He would always have one night stands with girls, and then just shove them off like they were nothing"

"What?! And you did nothing?"

"Well, I was hoping he'd fall for one of those girls, and break the engagement. But sadly, he didn't"

"Sakura, that's a very dumb reason to not tell him off"

"Yes I know, but..." Sakura hesitated

"But what?"

"I guess I just didn't care. He did whatever he wanted, so I really didn't care"

"You didn't care what he did to other girls? How could you be so selfish?"

Sakura was getting mad. "I was selfish? It's not like Hikaru raped them. They came to him by their own free will. What could I do about it? He did whatever he wanted. To everyone and anyone... even me..."

"What do you mean even you?"

"Well you remember how you asked me if I ever kissed anyone?"

"Yea..."

"Well, I wasn't 100% honest"

"..."

"Hikaru would sometimes kiss me forcibly. He would do it to show off to his friends. I never kissed him back though. But, when he started doing that... I guess that was when I really stopped loving him"

Sasuke was surprised. "A prince did that to you?"

"Yes"

"Prince's are supposed to be well mannered, aren't they? How could any prince do that to you?"

"I was surprised too. Well anyways, now that you know my life story, it's time to hear some stuff ou-"Sakura was interrupted by a beeping sound.

Sasuke pulled out his phone from his pocket. His alarm was ringing.

"You have a phone?"

"Yea, um, I'm sorry, but I have to go. Please excuse me, I totally forgot I had a performance today, but maybe we could hang out again tomorrow?"

"Sure, just give me your number" Sakura pulled out her phone, and Sasuke gave it to her. "Thank you" she said.

"No problem, alright then, I'll see you tomorrow" And with that, he got up and left, but not before giving her a quick hug.

Sakura loved the feeling of his touch. The way his hands had wrapped around her waist, and how his head had dropped in the crook of her neck. Even though the communication was short, she loved it. She pulled a mirror out of her purse, and saw that her face was red. What was wrong with her? She had been hugged by many guys before... but they had never hugged her like Sasuke did. Truly she couldn't be falling for him, could she? She smirked. Of course not. She had met the guy yesterday; there wasn't a chance she was in love with him... yet. Sakura continued to ponder her thoughts on the raven haired boy, but little did she know that fate was already starting to do its worse somewhere else...

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"Lord Hirono and Lord Akira, we have called you both here to discuss your heir and heiress's engagement..."

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**Hehe, I love how this story is going so far. I wonder what Sasuke and Sakura should do in the next chap...*laughs evily***

**Well anyways, reviews please =)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I take so long to update XD , and Im really sorry I do. But I tried making this an interesting chapter, so I hope you enjoy.**

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Chapter 4

Sakura was lying on her bed, staring at her pink Blackberry Pearl. It had been 3 hours since her and Sasuke had parted, so she was assuming he was done his performance. He had said he would call her after he was done. Sakura liked being with Sasuke. She felt safe, warm, and normal in his presence. When she was with him, it felt like she could just forget about all of her problems, and have fun. She knew she had just met the man, but Sakura trusted Sasuke a lot. She also had 8 days to spend with him, and she wasn't going to let those days go in vain. Then, finally, her phone rang. She immediately pressed talk, and put the phone to her ears.

"Hello?"

"Hi Sakura"

"Sasuke, I was waiting for your call"

"Sorry about leaving like that. I had totally forgotten about my show"

"Don't worry about it. I completely understand"

"I'm relived."

"So, how was your show?"

"It was great, it went nice and smoothly"

"That's good. Hey... I just realized... why couldn't I come watch you?! I mean, I've seen you play so many times, so why didn't you ask me to come?"

"Simple, it would've been embarrassing. And also, what do you think would've happened if someone realized that the princess of the land was at a peasants show?"

"Sasuke, don't call yourself a peasant. God, why do you think so lowly of yourself?"

Sasuke chuckled. "Well, why shouldn't I think lowly of myself? I live on the streets..."

"So? You shouldn't let that one fact lower your self-esteem so much. Look at you, you're an amazing violin player, and you're a really cool guy. That should count for something"

Sakura heard Sasuke smirk. "Thanks Sakura. So what are you doing right now?"

"Nothing important"

"Alright, then you wanna meet up at the beach right now?"

"Sure, I'd love too."

"Alright, see you there" and with that, Sasuke hung up.

Sakura hadn't bothered putting on another dress, so she just got up , fixed up her hair and dress, and left the castle.

* * *

Sakura saw Sasuke looking at the ocean as she was walking towards him. She didn't try to scare him this time, since the last time, she had failed miserably.

"Hi, Sasuke" Sakura said when she was near him.

"Hey" said Sasuke not turning to face her.

Sakura also faced towards the ocean. "It sure is pretty, isn't it?" she said.

"Yea, it really is. Imagine how vast it is"

"Yea"

"When I look at the ocean, I think about how big it is, and about how far it goes. And then, I think about myself, and my dreams. I can become so big, and go so far, because I know that the waves will always end up getting me there. Even if it takes awhile, I know that one day, I will end up on the other side of the ocean. And when I do get there, I'll get to see, and do so many new things, that I never even thought possible. I believe that one day; I will accomplish everything I've ever wanted. The ocean is like my inspiration"

Sakura stood there, and thought about everything Sasuke had just said to her. She had never thought of her life like that. Comparing to the ocean was almost... scary to Sakura. She had never really had any dreams, or hopes, since she knew what she would do when she was older. Even as a child, she had never had a dream. Her life was decided for her, so she never had anything to worry about. Her life had never needed to overcome an ocean, since she could always do anything she wanted too. Her life... was like a river, since it just flowed on, without anything stopping it. Nothing disturbed a river, it just ran... ran away from its starting point, from where it first began. Was she really running though? Of course she was, she was running away from life, and what it truly meant. She had accepted her duties as a princess without a second thought. She did whatever she was told, and never bothered to object to anything. Sasuke's life though, was much different. He knew the true meaning of life, and happiness...

"Sasuke, thinking like that is truly amazing. I think... I think that's the way my dad used to think. Even though I have everything, and you have nothing... you have probably experienced much more happiness in life then I have. When you achieve something, you feel happy. When you don't, you feel sad, but no matter what, you don't give up. For me... I've never even tried to achieve anything of great value. I've never felt true happiness. Your life is like an ocean, and mines is like a river. When I compare the 2, I feel as if, my life is missing some color, as if I only see in black and white. Sasuke... will you help me see in color?"

Sasuke smiled. "Of course I will. Sakura, I'll be the mountain that ends your river, and then, together we can both travel across this beautiful ocean..."

"Arigato, Sasuke" she said with a smile as well. And then, she felt an arm wrap around her waist. It was Sasuke's, and he pulled her closer to him, as Sakura put her head on his chest, and they both watched the sunset, together.

* * *

"Well then, it has been decided. Lord Akira's son, and Lord Hirono's niece will be wed in one month's time. Until that time, Lord Akira's son will be staying at the Haruno palace..."

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**I'm sorry its so short! But I have a lot in store for the next couple of chapters. Review please =)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, now I am going to start updating regularly , because I have alot more time now. Thanks for all the great reviews, they really help =) Anyways, onwards to Chapter 5 of Forbidden Love !**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, wish I did though =(**

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Chapter 5

Sakura was walking down the big staircase in the palace. She was going out to see Sasuke again. After yesterday, her and Sasuke had become... closer. She had talked with him all night long, and she found that he was a really interesting guy. He told her about his past, about his family, about how they had died, and how he had lived for most of his life. She was shocked to hear about all the hardships he had faced while growing up. He had only survived through playing the violin. Sakura had cried last night too, after hearing every thing.

Today, Sasuke and her were going out to another mystery place. Sasuke had told her to meet him at the beach, as usual, and from there, he'd take her to another really awesome place. Today, she had worn a peach strapless dress, and had done her hair up in a ponytail.

On her way out, she ran into her mother. "Sakura dear, where are you going? You've been going out a lot lately" her mother asked.

"I'm going out into the village. Its a lot of fun there, theres so many cool things to see. I had no idea I was missing out on so much" She replied.

"Oh, okay. I don't blame you for wanting to get out. Do you want a bodyguard, or someone else to accompany you?"

"No, thats alright. Its not really fun when people know that I'm the princess"

"I understand. Well, have fun"

Sakura nodded, and left. She really loved her mom , since she never really cared where Sakura went, and she never told her uncle where she went either. Her mom understood her need to get out, since she herself had been raised in the village, and she had a lot of fun in it with her father.

While Sakura was leaving, she saw one of the messenger birds above her. She called for it, and it came down to her. She took the message off its leg and read it:

Dear Sakura,

Hikaru will be accompanying me back to the palace. We will arrive in about 8 days time. I will explain why when i return. Until then, be safe, and be prepared for a surprise.

Love, Uncle Hirono

Sakura couldn't believe it. Hikaru was coming to her palace? No, he couldn't, why would he even want to? And why now of all times? She was starting to get really close to Sasuke, and she really enjoyed spending time with him. When Hikaru got here, she wouldn't be able to at all. She'd be forbidden to leave the castle. And a surprise? What other surprise could there possibly be? Sakura was going to have to tell Sasuke all this, that she only had a week to spend time with him. She could probably spend time with him after Hikaru left, but that probably wouldn't be for a while. Sakura was in a foul mood, but nonetheless, left the castle.

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When she got to the beach, Sasuke was playing his violin. She decided to stop and listen for a little while, so that the music could put her at ease. It was so beautiful, Sasuke was truly gifted. She never thought that anything could sound so beautiful. Sakura had listened to many ensembles, but none of them were ever as beautiful as this. He looked so handsome, and calm as he played too. His face looked so gentle, and at peace. Sakura could tell that this was his true passion. Sakura began to walk towards him again, and he heard her footsteps in the sand. When he did, he stopped playing, and turned around. He blushed, realizing that Sakura had just heard him play. He quickly started putting his violin away.

"There's no reason to be shy Sasuke. I've heard you play a lot of times. Your music is so beautiful, nothing could compare to it"

"I can think of one thing" said Sasuke as he got up and stroked Sakura's cheek.

Sakura blushed, and this made Sasuke smirk.

"Sakura there's no reason to be shy, we talked till 3 in the morning last night" he said smirking, and put his hand down.

"Whatever. Where are we going today?" She said with the blush still on her face.

"Its a surprise, but you don't have to be blindfolded today"

"Good, that was so annoying. Well, lead the way"

Sasuke put his violin case on his back, and started walking. Sakura was closely following him from behind. He decided to wait for her to be right beside him. When she was, he grabbed her waist, and continued walking. This, of course, made Sakura blush, but she really liked having Sasuke hold her. It felt right, and she felt warm and safe, and protected in his arms. She never felt like this with Hikaru... Then, Sakura remembered the message that she had received from her uncle.

"Sasuke..." She hesitated. "There's something I want to let you know"

"Then tell me what it is"

"It's kinda hard..."

"I won't be mad or anything, I really wanna know what you have to say"

"Well... in about 8 days, my uncle is going to be returning. But, he's not going to be alone... Hikaru is going to be with him..." She said, not looking at him.

Sasuke frowned when he heard Hikaru's name. Sakura had told him a lot about Hikaru last night, and he really despised the guy. And now, he was going to be staying with Sakura, which meant...

"Wait, that means, you wont be able to come out and see me doesn't it?"

"Yea, I wont be able to until he leaves..."

"Sakura, I don't want you with him, at all. I know that its going to be at your own house, with a lot of people around, but still... that guys a creep, and if he hurts you.."

"Sasuke, don't worry, I'll be fine. Hikaru may be a jerk, but I don't think he'd try to hurt me. What I'm concerned about is not being able to see you..."

"You'll still be able to call me though, wont you?"

"Of course, they cant stop me from doing that"

"Then it'll be okay, I don't think I could go a day without hearing your voice..."

Sakura started blushing again. Sasuke always made her blush. "Sasuke, your a really romantic guy, you know that?"

Sasuke smirked. "I am? I think Im just like this with you."

Sakura put her head into his chest. She loved being with him. He always made her so happy, and she never wanted to leave this warmth that he gave her.

"Arigato, Sasuke"

"Hmm? For what?"

"For everything"

Sasuke smiled. "I should be the one thanking you"

"For what?"

"For showing me how to feel again"

"Sasuke..."

Then Sasuke stopped, and Sakura saw that they were in front of a beautiful garden. Sasuke turned to her. "Sakura, I love you"

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**OMG, HE SAID IT! Well, theres a little cliffy, but I'll update in about 3-4 days. I gotta type up a chapter for my other story too. Well, review please! I'd love to hear your ideas as to what I should write next.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am sooo sorry ! My Microsoft Word crashed , so I kinda gave up on my fanfics , but now , Im back into them! I'm typing this on WordPad, so sorry if theirs any errors, cause I dont think they'll be corrected. Anyways , I wanna finish both my fanfics tonight, so sorry if they seem a bit rushed, but im going to type up all the chapters today , and if i dont finish, then tomorrow night. **

**Disclaimer~ I do noot own Naruto.**

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_"What?!?!?" Sakura thought to herself. "How?!? How could someone like him ever love someone like me?" _

"Sasuke..." she said aloud. "... H-How? Why? How could someone like you ever fall in love with someone as stupid and selfish as me?" She didn't understand him anymore.

"Sakura, don't ever say that about yourself again..." He replied, with anger in his voice. "And, how could I not fall in love with you? You're everything I've ever wanted... no, more than that. The time spent with you has meant the world to me. You've made me a much happier man, even if you don't realize it..."

"No Sasuke, its the other way around. You made me happier than anyone I've ever known. I never knew that I could feel so strongly, and feel so happy, with anyone, let alone a man I've known for a week"

"Sakura, can you tell me one thing? Do you... love me too?" Sasuke said, blushing at the last part.

"More than I've ever loved anyone in my whole entire life" she said, her eyes dazzling as ever.

"Then thats all their is too it"

Sakura smiled, and Sasuke smiled back. Their faces got closer to each other, until they could look into each others eyes, and see themselves in them. Then, right at that moment, Sakura heard the familiar song, that was coming from her cell phone. _"Why at a time like this?" she thought to herself._

Sasuke just looked away, and Sakura knew he was blushing. She then answered her phone. "Hello?"

"Hello? Sakura, where are you?" it was her mothers voice.

"Um.. at the beach, why?"

"Are you with someone?"

"No mother, why would I be?"

"Well, one of your uncle's men just saw you with a young man. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"Well, look, can we talk about this later? I'm kinda busy."

"Yes, you must be very busy. Sakura, when you get home, we will talk about this. Do you understand?"

"Yes mother"

"Alright, I'll see you then" and with that, she hung up.

"Who was it?" Sasuke asked her.

"My mother" Sakura replied flatly.

"Oh, what did she need?" he asked her, sensing Sakura's anger.

"Apparently, one of my uncles friends is spying on me. She was just wondering what I was doing at the beach with a boy. But whatever. I don't care about their rules. I'd break them all for the time I get to spend with you"

Sasuke pulled her to his side. "Sakura... I don't want to come between you and your mother" he said, stroking her hair.

"You're not. She's just being overprotective. That's the way mother's are with their daughters. Anyways, let's get on with the day. I don't want to waste any of this precious time"

"Okay, you got it. So then, let us go."

Sakura started walking, but then..

"Oh and one more thing" said Sasuke.

"What?" said Sakura turning around.

Sasuke lightly grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, and kissed her on the forehead.

Sakura turned away, her face completely flushed, and kept walking. Sasuke smirked, knowing he had made her blush. He walked alongside her, and was looking at her beautiful and soft face. He was looking at her so intently that he didn't see the stick that was right infront of him. He tripped, and fell into the sand, right as the waves came to the shore. Now, he was covered in sand, and wet. Sakura quickly went down to his side, and shook him a little. He replied with a grunt. Sakura then started laughing, and she was laughing hard. Sasuke stayed down, and looked at her laughing face, and started laughing too. While he was laughing, Sakura said, "Sasuke.."

"Hmm?"

Sakura bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You look good when your wet"

Now, Sasuke started blushing. Sakura helped him up, and helped get the sand off of his clothes. But, they were still wet.

"What do I do about my clothes?" he asked her.

Sakura thought for a minute, and then said, "Come with me"

And he did.

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**Okay, chapter one of my night of writing is done! Expect another one in a half hour... if you're reading this as it's coming out.**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is actually going to be a really long story I think, since I still have a lot I wanna write. I wanna finish this story this weekend though, so I'll try my hardest.**

**Disclaimer-I dont own Naruto.**

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"Sakura, where are we going?" a confused and wet Sasuke asked.

"Somewhere where we can dry you off and get you some dry clothes" She replied.

Sasuke didn't ask again, and just followed her. They were walking through a forest at the moment, and Sasuke wondered where he could dry his clothes off in the middle of nowhere. Unless...

"You're not going to make me dry my clothes out here, are you?" he asked, with fear in his voice. Even if he was an orphan, he was still a gentleman, and he wouldn't resort to somthing as ungentlemanlike as this.

"Of course not. We're going to an actual building, and since we're talking about it, here we are"

They were both standing in front of the castle. The Haruno castle. Sasuke's face twisted. "You're going to make me go in there?!?" he asked her as if she was crazy.

"Yes, is their somthing wrong with that?"

"A peasant inside the castle? I would get kicked out the minute my foot crosses the fence!"

"No you wouldn't. You're with me, and I don't care about what anyone else says. My uncle isn't here, so the guards have to listen to me. I have more authority over them than my mother. So, don't worry about anything, alright? And you knew you would've had to come here no matter what you did, so why not come here today?" She didn't wait for a reply. She just dragged him towards the brick wall, and towards the only door in the brick wall. She pulled out the key to the door, and went in. There, she was confronted by the royal knights who protected the castle.

"Princess, who is this peasant?" asked one knight.

"How dare he enter Haruno property?" asked another.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are? In case you have forgotten, this is my castle. And how dare you call him a peasant? Anyone that is with me is welcome to this castle. How dare you insult him?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke had never seen her so angry. He realized that she was this angry, over him. He suddenly felt very wrong, because he was causing the knights and Sakura trouble.

The knights were surprised. They knew the princess had a huge temper, but they also knew she knew how to control it. She had never shown this kind of anger to anyone.

"Forgive us Princess, we didn't mean to upset you, or you're friend"

"Yes, please forgive us"

"The one you should be apologizing to is Sasuke, not me" she said, calming down.

"Yes princess" The knights said together. Then they turned towards Sasuke, bowing. "We are very sorry kind sir, we didn't know you were an accomplice of the princess. Please forgive us"

"No, no, please, this is too much. You had every right to-" He was cut off.

"Sasuke, accept the apology, and lets go"

"Uh, right, apology accepted" he said, also bowing. Sakura then started walking away, and Sasuke followed behind her closely, not wanting to get into trouble again.

Sakura walked to the palace doors, and the guards opened them for her and Sasuke. Sasuke assumed they had seen Sakura's outburst, and that is why they didn't say anything to them. Now, they would have to get past her mother...

Then, a man, that Sasuke recognized as the King's personal knight appeared. "Welcome back Princess" he said while bowing. "And it seems you are not alone. Please do explain why a man such as this is doing in the castle" he said.

"As you can see Kiseki, he is soaking wet. I brought him here so that he could bathe and get changed. He is a dear friend of mine, so please do not mind him" She said, starting to walk away.

"Ahh, I see, but the problem is, you know the rules of the King"

Sakura turned around and glared at him. "Kiseki, who is going to rule the throne in just a couple of years?"

"You, princess"

"Then, how dare you talk to me about pathetic rules made by the King, when most of those rules will be changed by me? I don't care about stupid rules made by my uncle. Report this to him if you wish, but I could really care less"

"Report to him I will. I will also report your show outside with the knights, and your tone. Princess, you still have much to learn before you can rule this kingdom. We must keep peasants in-" Kiseki was cut off.

"Get out of my sight! And don't you dare call him a peasant again!" Sakura yelled.

"As you wish princess" Kiseki said, smirking. And then, he left.

Sakura literally stormed up the stairs, and Sasuke had a hard time catching up to her. She stormed into what seemed to be her room, and sat down on the bed.

"I absouletly hate everything about this kingdom! How can we rule the people when we can't even look at them as humans? I will change everything when I become the Queen. My uncle has created so much hatred between royalty and civilians. He ruined the peace my father worked so hard to achieve. A man like him... a man like him shouldn't rule this kingdom!" Sakura exclaimed angrily.

Sasuke sat down next to her, and pulled her to his shoulder. "Calm down" he said softly. "I didn't know coming here would trouble you so much. I'm sorry" He then kissed her hair.

"You didn't trouble. Everyone else did. I really never thought that you would see the true colors of the royal Haruno empire, but you did. I'm sorry about that Sasuke."

"No worries, I just hate seeing you so upset" he said while stroking her arm.

"Arigato, Sasuke" she said, looking up at him. "I truly do love you, and I promise I will change everything when I'm Queen. Now, I'll get you some clothes, and you can get all washed off" she ended with a smile.

Sasuke smiled back, and Sakura got up. She left the room, and returned a few minutes later with a towel and some clothes. "Here" she said, handing them to her. But Sasuke was too busy gawking at the room. It was beautiful. The whole room was painted pink, and sparkles all over the walls. The bed was a canopy bed, that was also pink. Everything in her room seemed to be pink. Their were also pictures of her father on the tables and on her dresser. Sakura really did love her father.

"My room's not that great you know" she said, a tad embarassed.

"You're right, you are" he said, getting up, and getting in close with her.

"Sasuke, I want to, but not here... It's not the right place" Sakura said sadly.

Sasuke just simpy nodded, and took the clothes from her hands. He walked towards the washroom in her room.

"Can I use this one?" he asked.

"Yea, go ahead. I'll be waiting out here, so don't worry, no one will bother you" Sakura said with a smile.

And with that, he walked into the bathroom.

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"So, do you understand what you're job is, Hikaru?"

"Yes, your Highness, I understand completely. Only an idiot would let a woman like her claim the throne of the mighty Haruno empire. She'd be just like her father."

"That is why he was eliminated, and sadly, his idiot of a daughter must be too"

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**Chapter 2 of my night of writing is donee! Wowiie, it takes me 30 minutes to write each chapter XD**

**Revieww PLEASEEE =) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, my last chapter of the night XD Sorry, I knew I said I'd finish it, but I'm getting kind of tired. But, I'm proud of myself, I wrote 3 chapters in a daay =) **

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto.**

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Sasuke had just stepped out of the bathroom, and Sakura couldnt help but gawk. She had given him a black tailcoat, with a white shirt underneath, and black pants. In them, Sasuke looked amazing. He looked like a real prince. Sasuke himself was a bit embarassed, since he had to admit, he did look pretty good.

"Sasukee! You look amazing!" Sakura squealed, imitating a fan girl.

"Please don't do that again," Sasuke said as he started walking towards her.

Sakura smiled. "No, but really, you look amazing. Right now, you and I, we could really work. You look like a prince right now Sasuke. You could pull of being a prince, if you really tried."

Sasuke frowned. "Only right now we could really work? What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakura sighed. "Sasuke, as you saw, our kingdom, no, specifically, my uncle, doesn't really like normal civilians. He believes royal blood is what prevails. My whole life, he's been trying to teach me that. So, if we looked at it realistically, this relationship... no, I will make it work. No matter what, I will. When my uncle comes home, I'm going to tell him that he has to call off the engagment"

"And why in the world would you want to do that?" came a voice from the door.

"Mother..."

And indeed it was. It was Sakura's mother, the Queen. Sasuke saw that she was just as beautiful as Sakura. Her hair was long and red, and she was wearing a long blue gown.

She walked into the room, and started looking at Sasuke. "Is this the boy you were with at the beach, Sakura?" she said, looking at Sasuke.

"Yes, mother, this is him. This is Sasuke."

"Sasuke is it? Well," she said, suddenly smiling. "Its a pleasure to meet you, she said, reaching out her hand. Sasuke shook it.

"You as well, your highness. This is truly an honor"

"Sasuke, you don't have to act like that" Sakura said, annoyed.

Sakura's mother than turned to her. "Sakura, you know that this kind of behavior isn't going to be tolerated by your uncle. Kiseki has told me all about your temper tantrum with him, and the royal knights. You know your uncle. He will punish you if he has to, and you are quite aware of that" her mother said, warningly.

"I'm fed up with his rules mother. It's a time for change, and I will take any punishment for my beliefs with open arms. If thats what I have to do for my people, then I'll do it" Sakura said with determination.

"You're so much like your father... But, anyways, this isn't what I wanted to talk about. It seems that your friendship with Sasuke has become more you two just being friends, if you wish to call the engagement off"

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other, and then quickly looked away, both blushing.

Sakura's mother smiled. "Sasuke, what is your family like? Is their any way I could meet them?"

Sakura's smile dropped. Why this subject? She looked at Sasuke, and his expression seemed the same.

"My whole family does not exist in this world anymore, your highness. I'm sure they would've loved to meet you, and Sakura though." Sasuke said.

"Oh, oh my, I'm soo sorry. I shouldn't have asked. But, it really seems than, that this is the same affair that Sakura's father went through. I, myself was also a orphan, a peasant. I recieved the same treatment you recieved today. It was hard, but I was able to get through it, since I knew in the end, I would finally be able to be with the one I loved."

"I feel the same way, your highness. I want to do everything I can to be with Sakura"

"Then, you have my blessing. Unfortunately, I probably couldn't help you two out, but Sasuke, you are welcome to come to the castle at any time you wish in the next week. After that..."

"You don't need to finish that, your highness. I know what you mean, and thank you very much for your kind words" Sasuke stood up and bowed.

"Such a nice, young man" Sakura's mother fawned. "Alright, I'll leave you too alone now" She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Sakura started to feel awkward. Sasuke walked towards where her music collection was, and started looking at her cds. They both liked the same kind of music. Sasuke popped his favorite CD into Sakura's stereo, and the beautiful music started playing. Sasuke walked up to Sakura, and held out his hand. Sakura looked up at him, and put her hand into his, and got up. She put her other hand on Sasuke's shoulder, and Sasuke put his other hand on Sakura's waist. They swayed to the beautiful tune. Sakura buryed her head into his shoulder.

"I want to stay like this forever" she said softly.

"I never want this feeling to go away" Sasuke replied softly as well.

Then, they both looked at each other, and they both knew now was the perfect moment. They got in closer, until their lips met, and they finally kissed.

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**Yayy , I got to write the kissing part today =) Review PLEASEEE**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 9

The kiss had been tender and loving, and Sakura knew it felt right. Sasuke had kissed her with passion, and Sakura had done the same. Sasuke then began trailing her neck and face with butterfly kisses, and even though his lips had hardly touched her, it still felt so good. He had then gone all the way back up to her lips, and they had stayed in that state for quite a while. To them, it was like they were in their own little world, where it was just the 2 of them, and nothing else mattered. Sakura then had snapped back to reality, and gently started pulling away, and when Sasuke got what she was doing, he did the same.

"How did someone like me, ever end up with someone as perfect as you Sasuke?"

"I could say the same thing Sakura. I guess it was fate that brought us together. Whatever it was, it brought you into my arms, and that's what counts"

"And now, I never want to leave them either Sasuke..."

Sasuke smiled, and they both just stared into each other's eyes. Sakura could feel the magic between them, and how right all of it felt. Sasuke was destined for her.

Sakura then noticed clouds outside her window from the corner of her eye. It looked like there was going to be a thunderstorm today. She also realized that Sasuke would have to be outside for the weather...

"Sasuke, you're sleeping here tonight"

Sasuke blushed, getting the wrong idea. "Sakura, um, are you sure? Like, I have no problem with it, but are you sure your ready for it?"

Sakura gave him a puzzled look, and then realized what he was really saying. "Oh my gosh, you sicko! I didn't mean it like that. I mean that it's going to rain tonight, and I don't want you to sleep in those kinds of conditions" said Sakura, blushing.

"Oh, okay, that makes more sense. But Sakura, I couldn't. I know that it'll cause problems and everything, I shou-"

"Sasuke, your staying here, end of discussion. You saw the way I was before defending you, what makes you think I won't do it again? I'd do anything for you Sasuke..."

Sasuke looked at her face, and couldn't say no to it. He agreed to stay, and Sakura's face automatically lit up. It was still long before they would have to sleep, so they could talk for quite a while.

"Sakura, you're too kind to me... I don't know how I could ever repay you..."

"You can repay me by promising me you'll be mine forever..."

"I promise you, forever and always. I don't even think I could ever even love anyone else the way I love you." And with that, he pulled her into his chest, and held her. Sakura was able to smell Sasuke's scent, and he smelt amazing. She was so comfortable in his arms like this, and knew she'd never want to leave them. Sasuke kissed Sakura's forehead, and Sakura looked up at him, reaching for his lips. They shared another sweet and compassionate kiss, and Sakura led them both to the bed. Sasuke sat on it, and she followed him, and ended up in his lap. Sakura knew they could go like this forever, and never get bored of each other. They just loved each other that much, and Sakura was realizing that. She very lightly bit Sasuke's lip, and at first, he hesitated, but then opened his mouth, and their kiss deepened. Sakura even began reaching for Sasuke's shirt, but Sasuke stopped her with his hand, without breaking away from the kiss. Sakura understood that Sasuke could wait, so, after what felt like forever, they pulled away from each other to get some air. They were both breathing heavily from the lack of air. Sakura remained in Sasuke's lap, and put her head against his chest. The music was also still playing.

"This is my favourite song," said Sasuke.

"It used to be mine too" replied Sakura.

"What's your new favourite song then?"

"The beat of your heart"

Sasuke smirked, and stroked Sakura's hair. They remained like that for quite a while, until Sasuke finally asked Sakura something.

"Sakura, I wanna ask you something, but you have to answer 100% honestly. Do you promise too?"

"Of course, ask me anything."

"Is this just a little thing between us? Or do you honestly wanna be with me? And remember, 100% honesty."

"Sasuke, how can you even ask that? Of course I want to be with you!!"

"Are you sure? Because, thinking about it all, this place, how could I ever compare to any of this? Do you really want someone who could never give you everything you want?"

"Sasuke, the only thing I want is love, and happiness, and I know you can give me those things, since you already have"

"Sakura... you really are a wonderful person you know"

Sakura smiled. "I love you too"

Sakura took a quick glance over to her digital clock, and it read 9:30. Sakura lightly began getting out of Sasuke's lap, and looked at him. He gave her a puzzled look, and she smiled at him. She knew her mother would come to check on them, since it was getting late, so she sat in front of him. He kept looking at her with a confused expression, but she just shook her head. Without even saying anything, Sasuke almost completely understood what Sakura was trying to say. She got up and went to her CD player, and switched the CD's. The new song was also a very beautiful tune that Sakura closed her eyes and smiled too. Her window was open, and there was a light wind that made Sakura's hair sway. Sasuke looked at his cherry blossom, and saw her beauty once more. She truly was a princess, and he was merely a peasant. But somewhere in his heart, he felt that he was Sakura's prince, and that they were meant to be.

As expected, Sakura's mother began opening the door slowly. When she looked in the room, she saw them. She realized that Sakura would never let her see their real relationship, and almost laughed at herself.

"Sakura honey, it's getting late"

"I know mother. I was hoping that since it's raining, Sasuke could stay in the palace tonight. And in a different room of course," added Sakura.

"Hmm... well... I don't see why not. As you wish my little cherry blossom. As for me, I'm gonna go to sleep now, I'm feeling quite tired. Now be good you two, I'll see you both in the morning." And with that, she left them, closing the door behind her.

Sakura remained at her CD player, and closed her eyes again. Sasuke then got up, and put his arms around her waist from behind, and put his head on the crook of her neck, smelling her beautiful hair, and nuzzling her neck. Sakura kept her eyes closed, but put her hands on Sasuke's hands, that went all the way around her waist.

"This all just seems too good to be true..." whispered Sakura.

"I know, but it is. I've finally found happiness" whispered Sasuke as well.

"Sasuke..." Sakura slowly turned around in Sasuke's arms, and Sasuke saw tears in her eyes. He immediately got worried, and held her tighter.

"What's wrong? Did I do something? I'm sorry... I shoul-"

"Sasuke, these aren't tears of sadness, their tears of happiness. I'm so glad I finally found someone like you... because I know you're all mine"

Sasuke smiled and wiped her tears away. He then pulled her in closer so he could kiss her. This time, the kiss was absolutely perfect, because they finally understood what they were to each other. Sasuke lifted her off the ground slightly, and carried her to the bed. He put her down, and was on top, with his hands on both sides of Sakura's head, supporting himself, and still kissing her. When they finally came up to breathe, Sakura began picking at Sasuke's shirt. He looked at her, and spoke. "Sakura, we don't have to do this. I mean, we are in the palace, where your mother could check up on us anytime, and, I am supposed to sleeping in a different room... I'll wait as long as you want, I promise"

"Sasuke... the thing is, I don't know if I want too... but I do want too..."

"If you're not 100% sure, then we won't, alright?"

"Thank you Sasuke..." she said, reaching for his lips again. They kissed until they both decided it was time to sleep. Sakura found something for Sasuke to wear to bed, and she herself changed. They kissed good night, and went into separate beds, both thinking about each other, and falling asleep with smiles on their faces...

**This chapter is like... pure fluff. I was in a really sappy mood when I wrote this, so REVIEW PLEASE =) I'll try to have the next chapter up ASAP.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello my readers =) I just got chapter 9 up, but I had actually written it a while ago, and for some reason , whenever I tried uploading it, it wouldn't let me. But now I'm writing chapter 10, and its almost getting close to when Hikaru shows up! Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 10

The next morning, Sakura woke up, and immediately went to go check up on Sasuke. She saw that he was sitting on his bed, and doing something with his phone. Seeing that Sasuke was doing fine, Sakura began to turn around, and go get ready for the day, until she heard Sasuke's voice.

"Sakura, you could at least say good morning," teased Sasuke, getting up from the bed.

"Sorry, you seemed a bit busy. I was just going to get dressed," said Sakura turning back to face Sasuke.

"I'm never to busy for you," he said, pulling her into a hug.

Sakura smiled, and put her head on his chest. It was a quick hug, and that worried Sasuke.

"Sakura? Something wrong?"

"Umm... Its just these clothes... and I haven't brushed my hair or anything... This isn't the way for a princess to present herself..." Sakura blushed.

"You look beautiful, don't worry. Princess are supposed to have natural beauty, are they not?"

"Well, thats true, but still... Let me get dressed, and then we can have more time. I'll get you some more clothes too, and you can get ready as well. "

"No need, the clothes from yesterday will be just fine"

Sakura gave him a surprised look and said, "Your a guest, so naturally I'd give you fresh clothes. Yeesh Sasuke, get with the program," she added teasingly.

"But why? There's nothing wron-"

"Sasuke, stop being so modest and polite," said Sakura, reaching into a wardrobe in the hall. She pulled out similar clothes from yesterday and tossed them to Sasuke. "Now don't say another word, and get dressed," smiled Sakura. After handing him the clothes, she turned around, and went back into her room, shutting the door behind her. Sasuke smirked, and went into the washroom.

Sasuke came out of his room, dressed and ready, and knocked on Sakura's door. No body answered, so he knocked again. No answer again. He assumed Sakura was in the washroom, so he opened the door, and saw the room was, indeed empty. He heard a song playing, and recongnized it immediately. Sasuke sat on Sakura's bed, listening to the tune, and waiting for his cherry blossom. Until he started hearing loud sounds from Sakura's bathroom.

He walked towards the bathroom, and heard Sakura yelling. He wondered why she was so upset so early in the morning, so being the guy he is, he spoke. "Sakura, are you alright?"

Silence. And then, he heard a voice. "Sasuke?"

"Um, yeah. Is something wrong?"

"YES! OF COURSE EVERYTHING IS FINE! WHY WOULDNT IT BE?!"

"Um, cause you were yelling just now..."

"SO?! CAN'T A GIRL YELL IN THE MORNING?!"

"Um well... Uh..."

"You best just leave her be, Sasuke," came a voice from the door.

Sasuke turned around to see the queen. He instantly bowed.

"Good morning, your majesty."

"Good morning. I see you are experiencing Sakura's hormones. If I were you, I'd just quietly sit on the bed and wait." The queen chuckled.

Sasuke nodded, and turned to the bed and sat. "Why is she yelling?"

"Its... a normal stage for a young woman. Insecurity is the reason she's yelling. "

"But why? She's so perfect..."

The queen smiled. "Being perfect doesn't come naturally."

"Well, with all due respect your majesty, people who try to be perfect, aren't perfect. Because, it's something that you, yourself, will never feel. Being yourself, and being natural... that is how people will think you are perfect."

The queen seemed surprised. "What a thing to say, and now that I think about it, your absouletly right. You really are a wonderful young man... anyways, would you like to come down for breakfast? Or would you like to wait for Sakura?"

"If its all right with you, I'd like to wait for Sakura"

"All right then, I'll see you downstairs later Sasuke" and with that, she left the room.

Sasuke sighed and smiled. So, this was Princess Sakura, the girl that yelled at herself for not being perfect in the mornings. Sasuke wondered why he had thought different. Weren't princesses supposed to be content with who they were? But then again, Sakura was a teenage girl...

Sakura finally came out of the bathroom, and she looked beautiful like always. She wore a blue spaghetti strap dress that had rhinestones on the straps, and around the edges. It hugged her curves completely, and it was down to her knees. She left her hair open, but it was neatly brushed.

"Sorry for the outburst..." blushed Sakura.

Sasuke laughed, and Sakura blushed even harder. "Let's just go eat breakfast, Sakura"

Sakura lead the way too the dining hall. On the way there, Sasuke observed the many paintings and statues in the halls. It was the kind of palace Sasuke had always imagined, and he found himself with a smile as he walked behind his cherry blossom.

When they go to the dining hall, the queen was sitting there in one of the high chairs, eating. There were 2 throne like chairs at the table, and the rest were fancy, normal sized chairs. They walked over to chairs that were by the queen, and a man pulled the chair out for Sakura. She sat down, and looked at Sasuke. He sat down in the chair beside her, a bit surprised that Sakura hadn't sat in the throne like chair.

"Whats wrong?" whispered Sakura.

"Shouldn't you be sitting in the throne?"

"No, I only sit in that if its requested. I find those chairs a big pain."

Sasuke smirked, and Sakura giggled quietly.

The queen then faked a cough, and Sakura immediately looked up at her.

"Good morning, Sakura"

"Good morning Mother," said Sakura, looking up at the queen. Standing beside her was her bodyguard, and sitting on either sides of her were two of the palace guards, and one of them was Kiseki.

"Good morning, Princess," said all the guards in unison. Sakura smiled at them, and Sasuke took a quick look over to them, and saw Kiseki giving him a dirty look. He quickly looked back down at his food, but he could've sworn Kiseki had just smirked.

"What are the plans for today Sakura?" asked the queen.

"I was planning on showing Sasuke around for a little bit, and after that..." Sakura stopped herself from finishing the question. If she brought up the fact that she was going into town, Kiseki would immediately make a big deal of it.

"And after that... We don't know what we'll be doing," Sasuke finished for her. He looked at Sakura, and she gave him a hesitant look, which left Sasuke puzzled.

Then, Kiseki stood up. "How dare you finish the princess's sentence for her? That is a huge offense, but of course a peasant like you wouldn't know of that. People like you don't belong here!"

Sakura's blood was boiling, and she was about to yell at Kiseki, but her mother spoke first.

"Kiseki, have you forgotten your manners as well? We are at a meal, and such outbursts are not permitted. Also, Sasuke is a friend of Sakura's, so it really shouldn't matter. He is not a peasant, he is a young man, so please apologize for your rudeness and leave the table," the queen said calmly.

Kiseki was angry, and that was obvious too all. "As you wish, your majesty." He looked at Sasuke. "Sorry sir for insulting you. It will not happen again." And with that, he left.

"If you'll excuse us," said Sakura, after Kiseki left. She grabbed Sasuke's hand and left in the opposite direction.

"Sakura, wait..." her mother said after her, but Sakura ignored her.

Once they were away from the dining hall, Sakura let go of Sasuke's hand.

"I'm sorry about that. You were humiliated because of me, and I don't know how to make that up to you. Just ignore Kiseki, I've learned to. His words mean nothing, he's just picking on people who he thinks are lower than him, but with a man like him, everyone is higher than him," said Sakura as calmly as she could. She was also looking away from Sasuke.

"Sakura, don't worry about it. Im used to being put down, its really nothing new. Its my fault, I shouldn't have done that. Your royalty, so doing that wasn't polite... " said Sasuke, looking at Sakura who was still looking away from him.

"That had nothing to with politeness, that was Kiseki looking for a chance to humiliate you. Who cares if I'm royality You know what, forget him. Let's just get on with the day," said Sakura, finally looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke smiled, and to his surprise, Sakura put her head on his chest. He put his head on top of hers, and put his arms around her. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until Sakura finally pulled away. She looked excited.

"Time for your grand tour!"

Sasuke laughed, and Sakura took his hand. Sakura showed him the kitchen, the throne room, the ballroom, the horses, and the back of the castle. After that, she took him to the 2nd floor, which was mostly art pieces. It was called the hall of art, and it was filled with paintings and statues, and some of them were over 200 years old. Then, Sakura took him up the third floor, which was where the rooms were. She showed him the outside of the Kings room, the inside of the Queens room, and her fathers old room. Her fathers room was painted a bright orange, and decorated with many things. Sasuke liked this room alot, and he got an idea of how the former king was. After that, Sakura took him up the fourth floor. There was a room for artists up there, but most of it was an indoor garden.

"Sasuke, this is my favourite part of the palace," said Sakura when they went inside it.

Sasuke stood there in awe, observing everything around him. The flowers were the prettiest things he had ever seen. There was no roof, because this was the highest floor of the palace, so birds were also floating around. There was a big fountain too, and it was magnificent. This place seemed like a place you would see in your dreams, but to know that it existed was... overwhelming.

Sakura sat down on of the benches, and perched out her hand. Immediatly, a bird sat on it. Sakura started humming to it, and the bird seemed to really like it. The tune she was playing was beautiful, and Sasuke realized once again, that Sakura was a true princess. He was about to go sit beside her, but Sakura got up first. She snapped her fingers, and music started playing. Sakura smiled at him.

Sasuke smiled too, and held his hand out. Sakura took it, and they started dancing. They were close enough to smell each others scents, but just then, Sasuke twirled her, and pulled her right into his chest. He tightly wrapped his arms around her waist and held her. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, and put her head on his shoulder.

"This is just too much... I feel like I'm living a dream..." whispered Sasuke.

"Sasuke..."

"This feels so... right. I'll never forget this moment; the moment that my life was perfect."

"I love you, so much..."

"I love you, more than anything in this world."

"Forever and always..."

"Forever and always"

Sakura pulled her head back slightly, and Sasuke reached for her lips. They kissed a perfect kiss, in a perfect moment, in a perfect place, with the perfect people.

**That evening**

Sasuke and Sakura were at the beach. Sasuke was playing violin, while Sakura sat in the sand and listened to him. The ocean was calm, and the sun was just setting, and Sasuke playing made the moment so amazing. When Sasuke finished his song, he sat down next to her.

"That was amazing, Sasuke"

"Not as amazing as you,"

Sakura rolled her eyes, and giggled. She put her head on Sasuke's shoulder. "Come stay at the palace again."

"Sakura, one night was enough"

"Please? It's so much funner with you there."

"Oh, alright. But only cause its you"

Sakura laughed, and lay down on the sand.

"Princess, how dare you lay down on the sand? Don't you know you'll get dirty?" said Sasuke, imitating Kiseki. That made Sakura laugh even harder. Sasuke took that has the perfect opportunity to tickle her. Sakura was now laughing so hard that tears started coming out of her eyes. "Stop... It... Sasukeee!" she said inbetween each laugh.

"What? I can't hear you"

"Sasuke... YOU JERK!" she said with the breath she could muster.

Sasuke started laughing, and lay down on the sand beside her.

"That was cruel," said Sakura, turning away from him. "I'm not talking to you now"

Sasuke laughed. "You know... I could easily tickle you again..."

Sakura turned back around. "I mean... I love you" She giggled.

"Thats what I thought."

Sakura got closer to him, and stared into his eyes. Sasuke stroked her cheek, and stared into her eyes.

"Sakura, never stop laughing alright? Your laugh is so amazing" said Sasuke softly.

"I won't, as long as I have you."

Sasuke smiled, and pulled Sakura in so theyre bodies were touching. Sakura's head was on Sasuke's chest, and her eyes were closed. Silent tears began running down her face. Sasuke, who's head was slightly above Sakura's, started feeling a wetness on his shirt. He pulled away very slightly, and looked down, to see his cherryblossoms face, stained with tears.

He slid down, so they're faces were at the same level. He wiped away her tears, and Sakura opened her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Hikaru..."

Sasuke felt his heart ache. He had totally forgotten about the man that Sakura was betrothed too. Sasuke couldn't say anything about this issue, it was all up to Sakura. But, Sasuke felt that if he ever met Hikaru, he would knock him out for all the things he had done to Sakura.

"Sasuke, what do i do about him?"

"I... don't know Sakura. Do whatever your heart tells you too."

"My hearts telling me that I love you, and not Hikaru. Its telling me to call off the engagement, but, do I really have that power?"

"Yes, you do. Your life is your life. You have the power to change your own fate."

"Then... I'll do it. I'll call it off as soon as my uncle returns."

"Sakura..."

Sasuke stroked her hair, and realized it was getting dark.

He kissed her forehead, and started getting up. "I think we should get going now Sakura, its starting to get dark"

Sakura looked around, and saw that Sasuke was right. She had totally lost track of time.

"We're gonna have to run" said Sakura.

"Sasuke looked at her high heels, and sighed. "I don't think you can run in those"

"Well, I'm going to have too."

Sasuke then gave Sakura a evil smile.

"W-What?" she asked nervously.

"You wont have to run" he replied.

"I.. wont?"

"Nope," and with that, he wrapped Sakura's arms around his neck, and put her on his back. "Hold on" he chuckled.

"What the? Sasuke! I can run, put me down!" But Sakura realized that Sasuke wasn't going to listen, so she simply put her head on his shoulder, and held on tightly. In no time at all, they were back at the palace before the sun had even set.

Sakura decided to go through the front gates, since she wasn't really afraid of getting caught anymore. Her and Sasuke walked hand in hand towards the gate, and Sakura noticed an aircraft. She was confused, but kept walking all the way inside. When she got their, she was in for the surprise of her life.

"Sakura!" exclaimed a mans voice.

**Clifff hanger! Hehe, I'll try and right the next chapter tonight, since I have a basic idea of what im going to right. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this nice, long chapter =)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I feel so inspired right now, so I'm gonna write the next chapter =) This one advances the plot more, so I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Sakura's eyes widened as she saw the man she wished she had never met. "Hikaru...?" she said quietly.

He ran to her and gave her a hug, forcing Sakura to let go of Sasuke's hand. Sakura just stood there, speechless. Hikaru's arms were supposed to be around Sakura's waist, but they were basically touching her butt. Sasuke was angry, but he knew that if he did anything, it would be very troublesome for Sakura. He had no choice but to stand there as the girl he loved was in the evil man's arms.

Hikaru pulled out of the hug, with his arms still around Sakura, and stared at her. Sakura knew he was looking for a kiss, but she didn't look at him at all. She then, finally noticed her uncle, and found that that was her chance to get away from Hikaru. She pulled away from him, and gave her uncle a hug.

"Uncle! I missed you!" she said. She of course didn't mean it, but she knew that this was the only way for her to get away from Hikaru.

"I missed you too my dear, I missed you very much. And, like I told you, here is Hikaru."

"But weren't you supposed to be away for another week?"

"Lord Akira lent us an aircraft, and Hikaru wanted to leave earlier. He said the sooner that we left; the sooner he would get to see you."

"That sounds just like Hikaru," said Sakura, mentally rolling her eyes. Sasuke, who didn't realize what he was doing, smirked, causing all eyes to go to him.

"And who is this... fine young man Sakura?" Her uncle was obviously trying his hardest from insulting Sasuke.

"Um... this is Sasuke, a friend of mine. He was going to stay at the palace tonight in one of our guest rooms."

"Oh? And who gave you permission to do so?"

Sakura was getting annoyed, but seeing as she was dealing with her uncle, she couldn't let that show in her voice.

"It is my palace Uncle, and mother also said it was okay. She also thought that you wouldn't be back for another week, so she allowed it."

"I see," he said coldly, giving a dirty look to the queen. It was very short, so he turned his attention back to Sakura. "Well, seeing as he is already here, I suppose he could stay the one night. He seems like a respectful man. Do tell me your name, son?"

"Sasuke Uchiha, your majesty" he ended with a bow.

"Well Sasuke, I do hope you will find the palace soothing." He said to Sasuke. "Well then, why don't we have dinner now, and then you and Hikaru can catch up with each other," the king said to Sakura.

Sakura nodded. "I'll be right there uncle. Sasuke and I are just going to go freshen up." She glanced at Sasuke, and started walking. Sasuke followed behind her, and he knew that Hikaru was glaring daggers into his back as he walked. This was turning into quite the night.

Sakura led them to her room, and sat down on her bed, and sighed.

"Well, that was... interesting," said Sasuke.

"I'm sorry," was all Sakura said.

Sasuke was about to sit beside her, but she got up and went to her bathroom, without saying a word. Sasuke wasn't expecting that from her, so all he could really do was sit and wait for her.

Sakura closed the washroom door and broke down right then. How could this happen? Today had been perfect, one of the best days of her life, but seeing Hikaru had ruined it completely. And Sasuke... why had she been so cold to him just now? Sasuke was saved from getting humiliated by her uncle, since he must've assumed that Sasuke wasn't a villager, but soon enough, Kiseki would tell him he was, and then... She didn't even wanna think about it. All she could think about was how unfair this whole thing was.

"Sakura?" said a voice from behind the door.

Sakura got up from the floor, and tried to talk to him as normal as she could. "I'll be right out."

"Can you come out right now please?"

He knew that Sakura was hurting right now. This man knew everything about her, and he'd learned it in the short time he'd been with her. She hesitantly opened the door, and Sasuke immediately pulled her into his arms.

"Don't worry about me at all, alright? I'm fine, and don't worry, I know everything will work out. Please have faith in yourself, and in me. I won't let anyone hurt you, so please, just smile."

"Sasuke... I'm sorry..."

Sasuke pulled away slightly. "You say sorry too much Sakura..." and instead of flicking her, this time he kissed her on her forehead.

"Thank you," she said smiling. Sasuke let go of her, and she started talking again. "Alright, knowing my uncle, he will hardly acknowledge you tonight, so you shouldn't have to worry about anything at all. If he asks you about how we know each other, tell him we were old friends in school, and that you were in town, so you wanted to see me."

"But..."

"Please, for me."

He nodded. "Okay."

"And... I'll deal with Hikaru. If he asks you anything, I'll answer, alright? He saw us holding hands, so obviously he's gonna be..."

"I know, I'll leave all the answering to you."

"Okay, then we should be good for the night."

"And what about for the rest of the time?"

"Sasuke... I think it'd be best if you didn't stay at the palace. Hikaru will make your life a living hell, and my uncle won't be too pleasant either. I'll call you whenever I get the chance, I promise. And I'll also be talking to my uncle about the engagement"

"I understand."

Sakura smiled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Okay, let's do this." She led the way to the dining hall, where everyone was already sitting and eating. Her uncle was talking to somebody, so he didn't acknowledge Sakura when she came into the room. Sakura saw that the only 2 seats available were the ones next to Hikaru. Sakura sat down, without saying a word, and began to eat. Sasuke did the same, but he saw that Hikaru was once again glaring at him. He ignored him, and began eating, knowing that that was the smartest thing to do, for now.

"Sakura, you finally made it," Hikaru said to Sakura.

"Yea, sorry for taking so long," she replied, being forced to look at him.

"I thought you might have just ditched dinner. That's what we used to do, remember?"

Sakura forced herself to smile. "Yea, we would go and play in the garden, or in my room, and then they would always send people to come get us, but we'd always hide. Then we would wake up in the middle of the night and take food from the kitchen."

"Good times..."

Sakura replied with a fake smile. Before Hikaru could say anything else, the king fake coughed, and stood up. Him standing up meant everyone was to stand up.

"I'd like to make a toast, to the prestigious Haruno kingdom, to happiness, and most of important of all, to Prince Hikaru and Princess Sakura, who will be wed in exactly one month from today!" he exclaimed.

Sakura and Sasuke were both about to drop their glasses after hearing the last part, but both regained control, and didn't. But after hearing those words, both their hearts cried in pain.

Everyone raised their glasses, and said cheers. Everyone had, except Sasuke and Sakura. The king gave Sakura a puzzled look, but Sakura never caught his eye, so instead, the King sat down, which meant everyone else could too.

"Isn't it great Sakura? Now it's completely official, we're going to be married!" But when Hikaru glanced at Sakura, her face was pale white. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I think I'm going to be sick..." she whispered. She couldn't look at anyone, not even Sasuke, who was just as white as her.

"Aww! You're that happy? I knew you would be Sakura!" he said, putting his arms around her.

Sakura was fighting back tears, and her mind was screaming 'NO'. She wanted to excuse herself from the table, but that would've meant Sasuke would be left all alone, and she didn't want to put him in that position. The rest of the night, both Sakura and Sasuke hardly touched their food.

When dinner was over, Sakura took Sasuke's hand, and they began walking in the direction of the stairs.

"Sakura, I know you must be tired, but I was hoping I could talk to you..." her uncle said before Sakura was at the stairs.

Sakura didn't turn around, but replied. "I think you've said a lot today uncle. I really am very tired, so I hope you understand. We'll talk tomorrow," and with that, Sakura ran up the stairs with Sasuke behind her.

The king was about to call after her, but she was too far to hear him. "My my, that didn't seem like Sakura... Oh well, I guess I'll ask her about everything tomorrow... Until then, Hikaru, why don't you get your stuff, and go upstairs to 'talk' to her?"

"Understood sir," Hikaru said happily.

Meanwhile, Sakura was in her room, with the door locked, crying into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke was trying to comfort her the best he could, but he wasn't in the state too.

"I'm going to call off the engagement, so why am I crying?" she said.

"Sakura..."

"I guess it's because, for that one moment my uncle announced the wedding, I imagined my life with Hikaru, and not with you. Even though it was just for a moment... it was unbearable..."

"Sakura... I wish I could say something, but I'm completely lost too..."

"Can we just stay like this a bit longer please?"

Sasuke replied by kissing the top of her head, and stroking her back. His mind was a blur, and he also couldn't think straight. When those words had come out of the King's mouth, Sasuke had gotten scared. He was scared that he would finally lose the one person he loved more than anything. He was scared that he would be alone again...

Sakura closed her eyes and let the tears just come out. What if... she couldn't stop the wedding? Would she end up losing the one person who had finally made her happy? Sasuke had become her world in the short time they were together, and she never wanted to lose him. She was scared because she didn't want to be alone again...

Just then, Sakura and Sasuke heard a knock on the door. Sakura knew who it was, so she wasn't surprised when Hikaru asked if he could come in.

"Sakura, why's the door locked? Let me in," he said.

Sakura wiped away all her tears, and opened the door. She had made sure that there were no tear stains on her face. The last thing Sakura wanted was for Hikaru to attempt to comfort her.

When Hikaru walked in, the first thing he noticed was Sasuke sitting on the bed. He glared at him, and Sasuke glared back. He wouldn't be a coward, especially not in front of a man like Hikaru.

"Is there something you need Hikaru?" asked Sakura, breaking the tension in the room.

"I was hoping we could talk a bit, you are my fiancé now," he said, with a big smile on his face. He pulled Sakura into a hug, and gave Sasuke a smug look. "Your names Sasuke right? Well, I think it's time you should go to sleep, it's getting pretty late."

"Shouldn't that apply to you too then?"

"No, I have permission for being with the princess in her room. I don't know if you do or don't, but I'd like some alone time with her, if you don't mind."

Sasuke looked at Sakura, who was about to say something, but he spoke first. "I guess I'll see you in the morning then Sakura," said Sasuke. He didn't want to cause Sakura any more trouble, and even though he hated leaving her alone with Hikaru, he decided it was for the best.

"Sasuke..." she called after him, pulling out of Hikaru's arms.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," he said, looking into her eyes. Her eyes were full of hurt and despair, and all he wanted was to pull her into a hug, but he knew he couldn't. Instead, he walked into the guest room, and shut the door behind him.

Sakura kept looking at the closed door, until Hikaru put his head on her shoulder. "Now we can talk, Sakura," said Hikaru, while wrapping his arms around her waist, nuzzling Sakura's neck. Sakura felt so uncomfortable and accidently let one tear slip from her eyes that ended up landing on Hikaru's hand. He swung her around, and cupped her face into his hand. "What's wrong?" he asked, worried. For the first time, Sakura looked into his blue eyes, and she saw that they hadn't changed. They were still the eyes of the monster from high school. Hikaru's brown spiky hair swayed due to the slight breeze in the room. He indeed, was handsome, but Sakura didn't care about that at all. She looked into his eyes, and was scared.

He smirked. "Come on babe, I know my eyes are hot, but you don't gotta keep staring into them... Oh wait, I totally forgot what that means," he said, with a dark smile. In a quick motion, he shut the door, and crashed his lips onto Sakura's, pinning her against the door.

Sakura didn't kiss him back, but instead cried. Hikaru felt the tears, and pulled away. He gave her a slightly angry look.

"What's wrong? First you cry when I hug you, and now you cry when I kiss you? What's up with you?"

"Hikaru..." She wanted to tell him so badly about how she didn't love him, and that she loved Sasuke, but she was afraid. She felt so weak and vulnerable without Sasuke around.

"Hikaru what? Come on Sakura, I haven't seen you in forever, so I obviously want to be with the girl I love, but how can I if you won't let me? And your hardly even talking to me, so what do you want me to do?"

"_I want you to leave me alone and to get out of my life" _she thought. "I'm sorry; I just don't feel like myself right now. Of course we can talk."

"Thank you, I finally got an actual sentence out of you." He said while walking to the bed. He sat and then lay back on it.

Sakura sat down on the bed, and she felt Hikaru stroke her back. Sakura stayed still, and didn't respond to the touch.

"You know, I really missed you Sakura. I missed your voice, your smell, how good you felt, your hair, but most importantly, I missed the girl I fell in love with," said Hikaru. "And I still miss that girl."

Sakura turned to him, and saw what seemed to be hurt in his eyes. Her eyes were also still filled with hurt.

"It's that guy, isn't it?" asked Hikaru.

"Hikaru, no, it not like that..."

"What did he say to you Sakura? He's doing something to you right? Just tell me, and watch, I'll make him wish he had never touched you."

"It's definitely not like that Hikaru!" exclaimed Sakura.

"Are you sure? He looks at you like... he loves you. He's a fan boy right? You should just let him go before he starts thinking things."

"And what kinds of things would those be?"

"I don't know, he might think you like him too. And maybe it'll come to the point where you might have to tell him you're in love with me. That will completely destroy him, so if you want, I could just let him off easy tomorrow."

"He's a dear friend of mine Hikaru; he is definitely not a fan boy."

"Ohh, okay, that makes sense. You were holding hands cause you were friends. You know, that puts my heart at ease Sak, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Sakura knew he was faking the whole thing. She gave him a fake smile anyways, and turned back around to face the front. She knew she should tell Hikaru right now that she loved Sasuke, but she was afraid that he might go hysterical on her, and worse, hurt Sasuke. She would wait till tomorrow to tell him, so until then; she would have to put up with his fake affection towards her.

Hikaru then grabbed Sakura's waist, and brought her down to the bed, and once again began kissing her. She tried her hardest to not kiss him back, but it was hard when Hikaru was such a good kisser. She finally broke, and wrapped her arms around Hikaru's neck. Hikaru, happy with himself, lightly bit Sakura's lip, and Sakura opened her mouth willingly. They kissed until they both needed air again, and when Hikaru had caught his breath, he began making out with her again. Sakura realized that her kisses with Hikaru were out of pure lust, and not love. Hikaru, feeling confident with himself, began pulling Sakura's dress straps down, but when Sakura felt it, she pulled back swiftly.

"Sakura... I have... permission you know," said Hikaru.

"I'm... sorry. I'm just really tired to do that right now. In fact, I think I should go to sleep now," she said, getting up from the bed, and going to her wardrobe.

"Alright, I'll go get ready for bed too."

"The way you say that makes it sound as if you're sleeping here."

"Your uncle kinda, sorta, insisted I sleep with you tonight. He said I should be sleeping with my fiancé."

Sakura got scared again, and it was hard for her to talk, because she was on the verge of tears. "Oh, okay," was all she could say.

"I'll be right back then," said Hikaru, leaving the room.

Sakura got her sleeping clothes, and quickly went into the washroom and let all the tears come out. She didn't know that it would hurt this much to be away from Sasuke, and to be with Hikaru. She looked in the mirror, and saw her face completely stained with tears. She wiped them away, but fresh tears would take their place. Sakura washed her face, and the tears finally stopped. She got dressed, and looked at herself again, and this time her face was completely flawless. She opened the door, and saw that Hikaru wasn't there yet, so she took the opportunity to go check up on Sasuke. She quickly ran out of her room, and burst into Sasuke's. She closed the door behind her, and hugged him. Sasuke was surprised at the act, and responded by putting his arms around her.

"I thought you would've gone to sleep by now," said Sasuke softly.

"How am I supposed to sleep without seeing you?" she replied quietly.

Sasuke stroked her hair, and Sakura pulled her head away from his shoulder, and looked into his eyes. She saw the big difference between Sasuke's and Hikaru's eyes. Sasuke's were friendly, and loving. Hikaru's eyes were cold and lustful.

Sasuke looked into Sakura's eyes, and saw that they were getting slightly poofy. He wished so bad that he could do something to prevent Sakura from crying, but he knew he couldn't.

Sakura placed her lips on Sasuke's, and they kissed an actual kiss. It was short, but perfect. Sakura needed to be with him so bad, but she knew Hikaru would start looking for her. She gave him another hug, and got up from his bed.

Sasuke looked at her, and Sakura saw how much this fiasco was hurting him. She couldn't do anything right now to make him happy, and that made her feel pathetic.

"Good night Sasuke," said Sakura sadly.

"Good night Sakura," replied Sasuke, also sadly.

Sakura left the room, and went back into her own. She saw Hikaru already lying down under the covers. Sakura was afraid to close the door, but she had to when Hikaru said too.

She lay down in her bed, and stared at the ceiling, thinking of Sasuke. Hikaru, being the jackass he was, wrapped his arm around her waist, and got closer to her.

"Whatcha thinking about, fiancé?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied, not looking at him.

"You obviously are if you aren't looking at me. Where were you just now?"

"I was saying good night to Sasuke."

"Didn't you guys already do that when he left the room?" asked Hikaru, annoyed.

"Not really, since you kind of made him leave the room."

"Okay, okay, whatever. We won't talk about him if you don't want too. Its not like I want too. How about, instead of talking, we-"

Sakura turned her body away from Hikaru. "Good night Hikaru."

"Alright, I get it. Good night," he said annoyed. He kept his arm around Sakura's waist, and got closer to her, so their bodies were touching, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Sakura closed her eyes, and tried her hardest to sleep, but it was impossible for her too with this man beside her. But she also realized that she wouldn't be having any nightmares tonight, because nothing could be worse than the nightmare she was in right now.

* * *

**Allllllllll done. That was a long and hard chapter too right, and I think I might be changing the rating of this story to M. Anyways, Reviews Please! I'd love to hear any suggestions =)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for all the amazing reviews =) Enjoy this chapter =) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 12

Sakura woke up very early the next morning. She hadn't gotten very much sleep last night, and now, she wanted to get away from Hikaru. She got dressed, and left her room. She quietly opened Sasuke's door to see if he was sleeping, but he was sitting on his bed with his eyes closed. She quietly slipped in, but her foot accidently hit the door, causing Sasuke to open his eyes. He looked at her and smiled, and Sakura saw that he hadn't gotten very much sleep last night either. Sakura closed the door behind her, and sat down beside him, and put her head on his shoulder.

"Hey there beautiful, how'd you sleep?" asked Sasuke, wrapping his arm around Sakura's waist.

"Not good. Hikaru ended up sleeping in the same bed with me. What about you?" she asked.

"What? Didn't you say anything?"

"Apparently it was my uncle's orders."

"Oh. Well, I slept... well let's just say I've had better nights. The bed was really comfy though."

Sakura half-laughed and Sasuke did too.

"So, where's _Prince _Hikaru now?" Sasuke asked, putting emphasis on the prince part.

"Probably still sleeping, or looking for me."

Sasuke smirked, and kissed the top of Sakura's head. "Should we go down for breakfast now?"

"Well, I don't really have a choice do I?"

Sasuke smiled, and got up. He grabbed Sakura's hand, and pulled her up into his chest. "It's okay, everything will work out," he whispered to her.

"I hope so," she whispered too. Sakura reached for his lips, but Sasuke turned his face and headed for the door.

"Sasuke?"

"We should probably get going," he said, not looking at her. With those words he left the room, leaving a confused Sakura behind. She regained her composure and followed him. She took the lead when they reached the bottom of the stairs, and walked into the dining room. As usual, a man pulled a chair out for Sakura, but when Sasuke began to sit, the King rose from his seat.

"Peasants are not allowed to sit here," he said, as calmly as he could.

From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw that Kiseki was smiling.

"Uncle..." Sakura began.

"Peasant, remove yourself from this palace at once, or I will have you removed!"

Sasuke stood there, dumbstruck, but nonetheless, began leaving the dining room. Sakura got up, and went after him.

"Sakura, sit down!" her uncle demanded.

"No..." she said quietly, and ran after him.

Sasuke was already outside the Palace gates, when Sakura got outside.

"Sasuke!" called Sakura.

Sasuke turned around, and Sakura hooked her arms around his neck.

"I'm so sorry..." she cried onto his shoulder.

"It's alright; they were bound to find out one of these days."

"Why are you always so calm about everything? It's okay to get mad once in a while."

"If I did, that would trouble you, wouldn't it?"

"That doesn't matter! Think about yourself once in a while."

"Sakura..."

Sakura pulled away from his shoulder, and looked him in his eyes. "Sasuke, I promise I'll make things right. We will be together, I promise. I'll try and keep in touch the best I can, but..."

"Yea, I know. It's okay."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Like I said Sakura, you say sorry too much."

Sakura half smiled and reached for Sasuke's lips. This time, he didn't turn around, and they shared a quick kiss.

"I love you..." said Sakura.

"I love you too," said Sasuke.

"We just have to wait a little."

"That's okay."

"You're amazing, you know that."

"Yea, you tell me that all the time."

Sakura giggled, and Sasuke kissed her forehead.

"Bye, Sakura," Sasuke said quietly.

"Bye Sasuke."

And with that, Sasuke turned around and walked away. Sakura wondered where he would go now, since she had never asked him where he slept. She just prayed that he would be safe, no matter where he was.

Sasuke walked away from the girl that he had fallen love with, with tears in his eyes. He had hoped that Sakura hadn't seen them, because he didn't want to trouble her anymore then he already had. Sasuke walked through the forest, and finally let the tears slip. He wasn't sobbing; tears were just coming out of his eyes. He sat down against a tree, and looked up at the sky. Today could've been another amazing day with Sakura, but Hikaru and the King had ruined that, and he knew that they were plotting to ruin Sakura's life too. He was going to protect her from them, no matter what, so he had already decided to stay in the forest, so he could keep an eye on the Palace.

Sakura kept looking in the direction that Sasuke had gone, and tears kept running down her cheeks. She knew she had to go back into the palace, but it was so hard too, since she wanted to run after Sasuke, and hold onto him. She knew she couldn't, and it would be painful for Sasuke if she brought him back. Sakura wiped away her tears, and began walking back into the palace. When she arrived at the entrance, she saw her Uncle standing there.

"We are going to talk in the throne room, _now."_

"Aren't I supposed to look presentable?"

"Now." The King turned around and left, and Sakura followed behind him slowly. She saw that Hikaru was not going into the throne room, and neither was her mother. This could be a dangerous conversation.

The King sat down on his throne, and looked at Sakura. "You know the rules here, and yet you chose to break them. How dare you go against my rule? Kiseki has told me everything, about everything that has gone on around here while I was gone. First, you're outbreaks with the guards, and with him, and then your strange behaviour with your mother. I have also found out that you and that peasant-"

"Stop calling him that! He is twice the man that Hikaru is! He is not a peasant!"

"How dare you interrupt and raise your voice against me? Have you forgotten all of your manners? This behaviour will not be tolerated. You will have to be punished."

"You can't punish me anymore than you already have..." said Sakura quietly.

"Is that so? Why is that?"

"Uncle... you're just... throwing everything at me at once! Couldn't you have at least discussed the engagement with me before formally announcing it? Couldn't you have at least considered my feelings?"

"This engagement has been set ever since you were still an infant. You knew that, so what was there to discuss?"

"This wedding... won't take place..."

"What?!"

"I said, I won't marry Hikaru when I'm already in love with someone else!"

The Kings eyes widened. "So that peasa... that boy is the one you... love?"

"Yes and nothing is going to change that. So, I beg of you, please call this engagement off." Sakura began crying.

"That is... unthinkable! The heir to the Haruno kingdom... married off to some peasant? With your father, the case might have been different, but you're the heiress! You must marry royal blood to keep our Kingdom's name alive!"

"Well I won't. I won't marry Hikaru."

"That isn't your choice. The wedding will take place on your birthday, and on that day, you will marry Hikaru, whether you like it or not."

"Uncle..." sobbed Sakura.

"Now, for your punishment, you will be locked in your room for a whole week. Your food will be brought up to you, and any other necessities. Is that understood?"

Sakura smirked under her tears. "That's the best punishment you've ever given me." She said quietly. She wiped her tears, and left the throne room. She saw Hikaru standing where he was before. He gave her a sympathetic look, but she answered with a cold glare. She also gave one too her mother, who was standing by the stairs.

"Some mother you are..." said Sakura as she passed her mother on the way up the stairs.

"I'm sorry..." was all she said.

Sakura ran to her room, locked the door, fell to the ground, and started sobbing. Sakura had known it would be hard to actually be with Sasuke, but for her uncle to not even try and understand, was unbelievable.

She stayed on the ground for about 20 minutes, and then finally decided to get up and sit on her bed. She had never felt as weak as she did right now. She couldn't do anything at the moment, and that was what hurt the most. Being useless and feeling as her words didn't mean anything to anyone. Perhaps she was useless. She had caused Sasuke so much pain, and that was unforgivable. Running away crossed her mind, but she knew Sasuke would never allow it, and her Uncle would have search parties looking for her everywhere she went.

She heard her door open, and she saw Hikaru, bringing her a tray.

"Here, it's your lunch," he said.

"Do you honestly expect me to eat?" she answered coldly.

"Look Sakura, you brought this on yourself. You didn't have to stick up for that guy, and you didn't have to bring him here. Honestly, what were you thinking?"

"I just wanted to be with the one I loved."

Hikaru stood there, speechless. He looked at her with a surprised look.

"You... love him?"

"More than you'll ever know."

"Well, I guess it sucks to be you then."

Sakura gave him a cold look. "And why is that?"

"Because you still have to marry me."

Sakura got up from her bed, and looked right at Hikaru. "I knew you were a cold hearted bastard, but we were always friends. I don't love you Hikaru, so why won't you call this damn engagement off?!"

He put one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him in an instant. "Because, you're way too hot to not marry." And then he kissed her roughly.

Sakura tried her hardest to pull away from him, but his hold on her was way too tight. But she refused to kiss him back.

Hikaru let go of her after about a minute. "Better get used to this Sakura, because this is the way it's gonna be forever."

"Over my dead body, you bastard," she spat.

He left the room, and Sakura lay on her bed again, and burst into tears.

**Sorry I took so freaking long to update, but I had a major writers block. I have finally figured this story out, so I should be updating regularly , depending on how much homework I get. **

**Anyways, review pleaseeeeeeeee! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry I hardly ever update, I'm just really busy, but now that I'm sick and have nothing better to do at 12:00am, here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review (=**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. **

**--**

Chapter 13

The only thing that Sakura could think to do was to write a song about how she was feeling. She had tried to call Sasuke, but he never picked up his phone, so he was probably busy. Before the whole Hikaru thing had happened, Sakura and Sasuke had discussed to write a song together, and perform it for the whole entire village. That time felt like years ago, even though it had only been about a week. No one had come to check up on her since lunch, and now it was almost 10:00pm. Someone had slipped dinner in her room, but she hadn't touched it. She was putting everything she felt into this song, but none of it would come out on paper. She only had a bit of it done, but she felt as if that wasn't good enough.

She hoped that Hikaru wouldn't come back to her room in the next week, because she never wanted to see his face again. She wouldn't marry him, even if that meant killing herself. But, she knew she would stop the wedding before it got to the point. She didn't know how, but there was something inside of her telling her that she would stop this wedding.

**3 days later (Wedding countdown: 27 days)**

Sakura had finally finished her song. Just as she wrote the finishing words, she heard the door to her room open. This was the first time someone had actually walked into her room in the past 3 days. She looked up and saw the devil with a smug look on his face.

"What do you want Hikaru?" asked Sakura.

"Now Sakura, is that anyway to talk to your fiancé? I just wanted to see you, that's all."

"Bullshit. Your here for a reason, so let's hear it."

"I wanted to spend some time with you," he said, while sitting down beside her. "And I thought I should tell you that our official engagement party is in 5 days. And 2 nights before the wedding is the Masquerade party. Once your punishment is over, you're probably going to go out and start buying dresses." He wrapped one arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him. His hold was tight on her, so Sakura couldn't get free.

"It doesn't matter to me, because I know I'm not going to marry you. And I don't get why you keep telling yourself that you love me. What's in all of this for you Hikaru?"

"Your being pathetic Sakura, you know we're going to get married, your just in some stupid denial. You're in this for me, I really don't care about anything else."

"Lies and you know it. You and my uncle are probably plotting something, but just know when I turn 18, this is going to be MY kingdom. Not yours and not my uncle's."

"Sakura, who cares? I wish you would stop being so serious all the time. Who would've thought that you would change so much in just a short amount of time. Just let me love you Sakura..." He cupped the side of her face, but Sakura jerked her head away, and got off the bed.

"No, stop it. Don't touch me, and don't say you love me."

Hikaru suddenly got angry, and jumped off the bed. "Fine then, your right. I don't love you, you're just a toy to me, and a toy is supposed to be fun. So stop being such a bitch, or I might start to use force. I'll be back tomorrow evening Sakura, and for your sake, I hope your much kinder than today." With that, he left the room.

"What a bastard," she muttered.

She picked up her phone, and looked to see if she had any missed calls, but there were none. She had called Sasuke so many times that she had lost count, and he hadn't called her back once... Did something happen to him?

No, she couldn't think like that. Nothing would happen to Sasuke, because he wouldn't let it. He was just probably really busy, and hadn't checked his phone.

Sakura walked out to her balcony, and looked out at the forest, and village. It was dark, and the stars were out. She could also see some of the beautiful village lights, and figured something important must be going on, as the lights never shone so brightly. She closed her eyes, and began singing.

"_Don't try to explain your mind  
I know what's happening here,  
One minute its love  
And suddenly it's like a battlefield"_

Wherever Sasuke was, she prayed for him to hear her. She had to remind him of how much she truly cared about him.

"_One word turns into a war  
Why is it the smallest things that tear us down?  
My worlds nothing when you're gone  
I'm not here without a shield,  
Can't go back now" _

Tears began to slip out of her eyes, but she kept singing, hoping that he would hear her.

"_Both hands tied behind my back for nothing  
Oh no, these times when we climb so fast to fall again  
Why we gotta fall for it now?"_

He had to hear her, he just had to...

"_I never meant to start a war,  
You know I never wanna hurt you  
Don't even know what we're fighting for  
Why does love always feel like a battlefield?"_

He slowly began coming out of the forest to listen to his cherry blossoms voice, because a voice as angelic as this could only belong to Sakura.

"_Can't swallow our pride  
Neither of us want to raise that flag  
If we can't surrender then we both gonna lose what we had, oh no"_

It was indeed Sakura's voice. As he walked towards the palace, her pink hair was becoming visible. He made sure to stay hidden until she was done.

"_Both hands tied behind my back for nothing  
Oh no, these times when we climb so fast to fall again  
I don't wanna fall for it now  
I never meant to start a war,  
You know I never wanna hurt you  
Don't even know what we're fighting for  
Why does love always feel like a battlefield?  
I guess you better go and get your armour"_

He yearned to hold to her. To tell her how much he loved her, and how he would do anything to keep her.

"_We could pretend that we are friends tonight  
And we'll wake up in the morning and we'll be alright  
Cause baby we don't have to fight  
And I don't want this love to feel like a battlefield."_

Sakura finally opened her eyes.

"_I guess you better go and get your armour  
I never meant to start a war,  
You know I never wanna hurt you  
Don't even know what we're fighting for  
Why does love always feel like a battlefield?"_

That was the song that she had hoped Sasuke had heard.

"Sasuke..." she whispered, letting the tears run down her cheeks.

"That was... beautiful, Sakura."

Sakura froze to the sound of his voice, and slowly, he came out of the forest.

"Sasuke!" Her face immediately lit up. "You jerk, why haven't you answered any of my calls?"

"Sorry, I'm busy planning something."

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise," he smirked, remembering his surprises for her in the past.

"What is it with you and surprises?" laughed Sakura.

He smiled. "I really wanted to see you, and hear your voice."

"Me too."

"So, what's the situation right now?"

"I've been punished, so I'm stuck in my room for 3 more days. The engagement party is in 5 days, and the Masquerade party is 2 days before the wedding, so that would be in 25 days..."

"Alright, then that works in my favour. I have more time than I thought I would."

"More time for what?"

"For my surprise."

Sakura sighed. "You suck Sasuke."

"I love you too Sakura," he chuckled.

She smiled at him. "I've missed hearing you say that. But the knights are going to do a round around the castle, and if they see you, it won't be good. Just please pick up when I call you Sasuke, and be safe. I love you."

"Alright, I understand. Don't do anything to get yourself in trouble alright?"

"I won't."

"Good, bye Sakura."

"Bye Sasuke."

And with that, he turned and went back into the forest.

"Who were you just talking to?"

Sakura spun around, and saw her mother. She was looking at her like she was worried, but by now, Sakura knew better.

"Oh wow, has my pathetic excuse of a mother actually come to visit me? I feel so honoured," said Sakura, disgusted.

"Sakura..."

"What did Father see in you? How could he marry such a pushover, have a kid, and then die? Like honestly, what was he thinking?"

"Sakura..."

"You know, if you actually used some of that authority as queen, maybe my life wouldn't be in such a mess. And maybe if my idiot father had-"

"Do not talk about your father in that way!" she yelled.

"This is a first. So you've finally decided to stand up for something. Good work."

"What has happened to you Sakura? How could you talk about your father in such a way?"

"Because he was a fool for marrying someone like you."

The words hit the queen hard, and it was a while before she spoke. "I'm sorry about how everything has worked out Sakura. I really am. But do you think that this whole thing hasn't taken a toll on me too? Seeing my only daughter so unhappy?"

"You should've gotten used to it by now, seeing how almost every day of my life was miserable. It's amazing that now is when you finally decided to start caring."

"Sakura please..."

"Look, I'm done with this conversation, and as far as I'm concerned, I think I'm done with you too. You've never done anything mother like for me, and if you didn't for the first 16 years of my life, you probably won't for the rest of it. So I think its easier if we cut this relationship off completely."

Sakura's mother stood there, dumbstruck. Had her own daughter really felt this way about her this whole time? "As you wish, my litt- Sakura. I will leave, and I'm sorry for letting you down." She left the room, fighting back tears.

The last thing that Sakura had wanted was drama with her mother, but she felt relieved, because she had finally gotten those words off her chest.

Sakura actually, somehow felt tired. Maybe it was because of all the events in her day. She quickly got ready for bed, and drifted into a deep sleep...

**The following evening**

"Sasuke, there's someone at the door, so I'm going to have to call you later alright?"

"Alright, call me soon. I love you."

"Love you too, bye."

"Bye."

Click

"Come in," said Sakura from her bed.

The door slowly opened, and King Haruno walked in. Sakura's body got tense, and she got up from her bed.

"Hello my dear, it has been a few days since I've seen you."

"Yes, it has."

"And I think that because of everything that is going on, I punished you for too long."

"No, I don't think that you did."

He gave her a stern look, but one that was more like a glare. "Oh, is that so? Hikaru told me that your behaviour was changing, but I'd never thought it'd be this changed. You normally are begging me to remove your punishments, and here I am offering to, yet you refuse. What has that peasant boy done to you?"

Sakura gave him a cold look. "He isn't a peasant. He's more of a man then every single male in this castle."

"That look doesn't scare me, if that's what your trying to do. And maybe he might be in your fairy tale world, but you should know that any relationship with him will never be accepted. After you marry Hikaru, that will become clearer to you."

"I'm not marrying him."

"Oh yes you are. Your words don't matter anymore. This issue has already been finalized by the Grand Council."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You said it was because of something else! You never mentioned anything about my engagement."

"Oh, I didn't? I'm sorry; I didn't think that you would need to know."

"Uncle, this is wrong! How do you expect me to keep living like this? You make every little decision for me, and you tell me nothing!"

"Do not raise your voice. None of this should be a problem, _Princess_ Sakura. You by now should've realized that that is how a princess' life works. You let other people make decisions in your life, and you make the decisions for your kingdom and people."

"That's wrong. That won't be the way things work when I rule."

"We will see. Anyways, you are going dress shopping tomorrow morning, so be ready. That is all," he said coldly, and turned and left.

Sakura sighed and flopped onto her bed. Just moments ago, she and Sasuke had been having an amazing talk, and now her uncle totally killed the happiness that Sasuke had given her. She closed her eyes, and tried to empty her mind. Everything her uncle had said was useless, and annoying, and she didn't need her uncle's corrupt thinking in her mind.

Then she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said not bothering to get up.

The door opened, and _he_ walked in.

"Ugh, Hikaru, I am not in the mood. How about you go bother one of your many girlfriends for a change?"

"I already have, you were the last resort," he smirked.

Sakura groaned, and got up. "Great, just what I needed."

Hikaru sat down on the edge of her bed. "What's wrong?"

"Like you care."

"Your right, I don't. But it makes things easier when you tell someone."

"And when did you start caring?"

"Look, I get your mad, but you don't have to be all bitchy with me about it, alright?"

"Why? You're the best person to take it all out on," she smirked.

Hikaru got angry. "Are you forgetting my warning from yesterday? I thought I told you to play nice."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Then that's a mistake."

He got up, and quickly grabbed her waist, and smashed his lips against hers. She tried to pull away, but he was holding her too tight. She wouldn't fall to his kissing skills this time. She hated Hikaru, and that was what she kept telling herself.

He pulled his lips away for a second. "Kiss me back bitch."

"No. And if that's all you got, your pathetic."

He smirked. "You think that's all I got?"

He once again smashed his lips against hers, but this time, he slipped a hand into her dress. Sakura's surprise got her to open up her mouth a bit, and Hikaru took that moment to slip his tongue in. Sakura was trying her hardest to get him off, but it didn't work, he was too strong.

With the hand that was already in the dress, Hikaru unclipped her bra. Sakura felt his other hand going down to her bottom. She pulled her lips away from his as hard as she could.

"Please don't Hikaru," she begged.

"Too late, I told you to be scared didn't I? This is what you get for being such a bitch all the time." He pushed Sakura back, so her back was on the bed, and he raped her.

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**Finally done! Hope you enjoy it, don't forget to review (= **


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey people who read my story! Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I'm trying to finish this story by Monday, so I can hand it in as bonus to my LA teacher, since I'm almost failing XD I'm going to try my hardest, so stay tuned =) **

**Disclaimer- Do not own Naruto**

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**Chapter 14**

The following morning (26 days till the wedding)

"How do you like this one, my princess?"

Sakura didn't reply.

The seamstress was getting very worried about the young princess. She had hardly spoken all morning, and to get her to speak, you'd have to ask her something at least 3 times. She understood that the princess had a punishment, but she didn't think it could've been that severe, seeing as her wedding was in a little less than a month.

"Princess?"

Sakura looked up at the woman's kind face. Her shimmering green orbs were no more, they had been replaced by dull, green eyes that showed hardly any emotion. She had bags under her eyes, and was almost completely dead inside.

The seamstress saw the darkness in Sakura's eyes, and shivered. She had known the princess since she was very young, and those eyes had always sparkled like diamonds. To see her in this state was unbearable. "How do you like this dress?"

Sakura looked at the dress. "I don't," she replied coldly.

"Oh, alright," said the seamstress, a little hurt. "Let's look at another one."

They walked over to another section of the shop, and the seamstress began searching for another dress.

Sakura's heart had been darkened by the events that had unfolded last night. She never knew it was possible to hate someone so much, and to actually feel like your whole world was dead. Everything around here was black, just like her room had been last night. She had gone through an unspeakable horror, and no one, except the devil knew about it. But even if she did tell her uncle, she knew he would hardly care, because that's the way he probably wanted things to be. He wanted to see her miserable and lifeless.

"How about this one? Do you like it?" asked the seamstress.

She looked at the dress, and then looked away in disgust. It was a very beautiful piece, a blue strapless gown with embroidery on the bottom. But she imagined wearing it in her head, and she could just picture Hikaru's face, and she knew he would love to see her in a dress like this.

The seamstress took that as a no, and sighed. "Would you like to try looking?"

Sakura started to search the shop, and she wanted to find the ugliest dress possible. One that would cover almost every inch of her body, because she wanted to make sure that _he_ wouldn't like it. She looked at dress after dress, until she finally found one.

It was a dark blue gown that went off the shoulders and was full sleeved. It went all the way down to her feet, and it had very little design on it.

"I want this one," she said.

The seamstress was excited for a moment, until she actually saw the dress. Her expression dropped, and she looked at Sakura. "Um, are you sure _this_ is the one you want? You can get any dress here if you want, princess."

"If I can get any dress, then I want this one. My decision is final."

The seamstress was taken aback by the harshness in Sakura's voice. "A-as you wish, my princess."

"I'll be waiting in the car," said Sakura.

"Alright, I will get the dress ready for you then."

Sakura began walking to the car, and the driver opened the door for her. Sakura looked around to see where they were. They were in the village, in the richest part of it. This was the only place in the whole village her uncle would let her come too. Sakura used to think it was beautiful, because of all the fountains, and wildlife, but now all she could see was how tainted this place was. She hated it.

She stepped into the car, and the driver closed the door. She put her head against the window, and closed her eyes. She hated this life.

**The same evening**

Sakura was lying on her bed, with tears running down her face. She wasn't sobbing, the tears just would stop coming out. Then she heard her phone ringing. She was so broken that she couldn't even feel excitement when she saw it was Sasuke who was calling her. She hoped she would sound like she was feeling alright, but lately; she had been blaming Sasuke as well as to why all these things had happened to her.

"Hello?" she tried to say as normally as she could.

"Hi Sakura, its Sasuke" he said.

"Oh, hi," she said, fighting back more tears.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, why would there be?"

"Because I can see tears running down your face."

"What?"

"Look outside."

She walked to her window, and there she saw him.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"Why does it matter to you?"

Sasuke was taken aback by her words. "Because I care about you."

"If you cared, you wouldn't have left me here with Hikaru."

"What? Okay Sakura, you need to tell me what happened, right now."

"He... r-raped me."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm so scared Sasuke, I don't know what's happening to me, I feel so, dark inside. I feel so much hate for Hikaru that I can't even stand it."

"How could he do that?! Didn't anyone hear him while he was doing that? And didn't you tell anyone?"

"No, and no... only you."

"But why?"

"Because no one's going to care! My uncle sure as hell won't, and my mother won't do anything about it out of fear from my uncle."

"But that's... so wrong."

"I know, I don't know what to do anymore Sasuke..."

"Just try to stay away from him, okay? And leave your room the minute he comes in, or scream or something. You can't keep being scared Sakura, or he's gonna do it again."

"Then why won't you help me?"

"I am, I'm trying my hardest, please just wait a little longer."

"Okay Sasuke, but you're going to make sure I don't get married to him right?"

"Of course, I'd **never** let that happen."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Okay, I'll be hanging onto that promise then."

"Okay, just please don't cry anymore."

"I'll try not to."

"Thank you."

Then Sakura heard a knock at the door.

"Someone's here, hide, and I'll try to call you later, bye."

And before Sasuke could say anything, she hung up.

"I love you too," he whispered, and returned to the shadows in the forest.

"Come in," she said, wiping her tears away.

The door opened, and the King walked in.

"Good evening my dear," he said, trying to sound kind.

"Hi."

"I saw your dress for the engagement, and didn't like it. So, another dress has been selected, and is going to be brought to your room tomorrow morning, probably."

"But why? I liked that dress..."

"It was far too dark for a joyous occasion such as this. You need something that gives off a much happier vibe. That dress just wasn't the one."

"I want to wear that dress uncle."

"I'm sorry, but no, Hikaru didn't like it either. In fact, he's the one who helped pick out the new one. Wasn't that kind of him?"

Sakura tensed at the sound of his name. And he had picked the dress, which meant it would be something short and skanky.

"Can't I at least pick my own clothes? It is my wedding after all."

"Well you can't let the new dress go to waste, now can you? Hikaru paid with his own money and everything. It would be very rude to not wear it, Sakura."

She knew no matter what she said, she would be wearing the dress Hikaru bought for her. Her uncle had always liked Hikaru, right from the beginning, there's no way he would go against him.

"Alright, I understand."

"Good. And Hikaru has begged me to no end to remove your punishment, so I guess I really have no choice. You can leave your room now, and you will be expected to join us for meals."

Sakura's eyes widened. Why would Hikaru want her punishment gone? A new fear began to wake inside of her.

"A-alright."

"Dinner will be at the normal time, I will see you then," he said, while leaving her room. He shut the door behind him, and Hikaru appeared from behind a corner. "You were right; she is completely terrified of you. Good work."

"Thank you, your highness," he smirked.

**At dinner**

Sakura walked to the dinner table as calmly as she could. She did not want anyone to think something had happened, that was the last thing she needed. When she arrived in the hall, she saw that her uncle and Hikaru were not there yet. So, she sat in a regular chair, and waited for her food. Dinner never started before the King arrived.

The Queen was sitting in her big throne chair like usual, and was talking to one of the guards, and not looking at Sakura. This was the way Sakura preferred it, her mother didn't need to acknowledge her.

A few minutes later, Hikaru and the King arrived. Hikaru sat next to the King to Sakura's delight, and hardly even looked at her.

"Ah Sakura, it is so nice to have you at the table again," he said with a smile.

"Thanks."

They began eating, but Sakura hardly touched her food. She just looked at it, not wanting to look at anyone else at the table.

"Not hungry, Sakura?" asked the King.

"Not really," she replied.

"Oh, I see. Well then, why don't you and Hikaru go spend some time together? I know you haven't spoken all day."

"That sounds good to me," said Hikaru. He shot a sly smile at Sakura.

Sakura's heart filled up with fear once again, but she knew she would have to go with him. Someone pulled her chair out for her so she could get up, and then Hikaru took her hand gently. In front of everyone, she had no choice but to hold it.

Hikaru led her to the ball room, and then sat down. Sakura continued standing.

"You can sit down you know."

"I prefer standing."

"Whatever you say, _princess_."

Sakura looked straight into his eyes, and saw the darkness she had seen last night, and stepped away from him.

"Awe, are you scared of me now?" he smirked, getting up and close to Sakura.

"Please, don't..." she whimpered.

"I'll take that as a yes," he laughed. "Well are you gonna be more obedient now, my toy?"

Sakura didn't reply, but tears began slipping out of her eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't be that rough again, I think you got the point. Now how about we start over? Let's forget everything that happened, and I'll go back to being that same Hikaru that loves you dearly, if you go back to the same Sakura that did anything I asked."

"I'm... scared of you."

"Awe, don't cry, I'm here for you Sakura," he said, and he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in close. "I won't hurt you anymore; it's going to be okay."

Sakura looked up at him, and saw some sincerity in his eyes. Enough for her to bury her head in his chest, and let all of her tears out.

**Engagement Day (22 days before the wedding)**

Sakura took one last look in the mirror, and then took a deep breath. She was wearing the blue spaghetti strap dress that Hikaru had bought her. It went down to her knees, and had embroidery coming up from the bottom corner all the way to the opposite sides top corner. Her hair had been done up in a high bun, with a blue flower pin.

After the day with Hikaru in the ballroom, they had been on better terms. Hikaru had only kissed her once in the 4 days, and the rest had been just them talking. Sasuke hadn't called her though, which made a single tear fall from her eyes. Sakura hadn't tried calling him either though, even though she had said she would call him back when she could. She had just been so busy, and getting away from Hikaru was hard too.

"Princess? Are you ready?" asked one of her maids.

"Yes, I am."

"Okay, then let me escort you to the stairs. The guests are waiting."

"I'd like to do that, if you don't mind," said a voice from behind.

"Lord Hikaru! Oh yes, of course you may, well then, I will leave you two," said the maid, blushing. On her way out, she almost tripped over her own two feet.

"Maids these days..."muttered Hikaru. And then he looked at Sakura. He smiled, "You look beautiful, Sakura."

"Thank you," she replied.

"But I have one last finishing touch for you."

Sakura turned to face him. "What is it?"

"Turn back around, and close your eyes."

Sakura did as he told her, and then she could feel Hikaru's hands on her neck.

"Okay, open your eyes, and look into the mirror."

She did, and she saw the prettiest necklace ever. It was on a silver chain, and it had a blue flower pendent, that matched her dress completely.

"It's beautiful, thank you Hikaru," she said kindly.

"A princess deserves the best, but your welcome," he said with a smile. "Well then, let me take you to the stairs. Your uncle said we should go down together."

"Alright, let's go."

Hikaru held out his hand, and Sakura hesitantly put her hand in it.

"Don't be scared anymore Sakura."

"I'm just wondering why you changed so much all of a sudden."

"Me too..." he said quietly.

He led her to the stairs that led to the ballroom, and then stood there and waited for the man to announce their arrival.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now let me introduce you to the reason you are all here, Prince Hikaru Kimura and Princess Sakura Haruno!"

The crowd began clapping, and Hikaru led Sakura down the stairs, and when they got to the bottom, he twirled her, and then gently pulled her next to him.

"The princess looks gorgeous!" said one person.

"Damn, that Prince Hikaru is fiiine," said another.

"Didn't that Prince already have a girlfriend?"

"No! This arrangement is from when they were little kids!"

Then both the Kings walked towards them.

"Sakura, you look beautiful," commented Hikaru's father.

"Thank you very much."

"Well, why don't you two go greet some of the important guest that are here? Some of the council members were kind enough to join us."

"Understood, your highness."

So, Hikaru and Sakura greeted all the 'important' guests, and got many congratulations from all of them.

Then, they got the cue from King Haruno to take their seats at the front, because the ceremony was about to begin. As they were walking towards there thrones, a group of three girls began talking to them.

"Oh my god, you guys are such a cute couple!" said one of the girls.

"Thank you," said Hikaru.

That got the girl stammering and her face started turning beet red. The one of the other girls spoke.

"So how long were you guys dating before you finally decided to get married?"

Sakura's heart sank. They hadn't been dating, this was a forced marriage, and she had almost forgotten about that fact.

"Oh, well we've known each other since we were little kids, and then I finally decided to ask her at the end of high school," lied Hikaru. His story sounded so believable.

"But didn't you like, date a lot of girls in high school?" asked the same girl.

"Natsuki! You shouldn't ask those kinds of things!" said the girl who hadn't spoken yet. "Please forgive her and congratulations to you too."

"Thank you," said Hikaru. And then he led Sakura away from them to their seats.

"God, some girls are so annoying," he said quietly to her.

Sakura didn't reply. She was lost in her thoughts again, and Hikaru didn't like it.

"Sakura, you're not going to go all quiet on me again, are you?"

"Oh, sorry, just... never mind, sorry."

"All those girls were mistakes; you're the only one I got right."

"_What a lie"_ she thought. But she smiled nonetheless.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if we could have your attention please. We would like to start the ring ceremony now," said King Haruno.

The rings were brought to them, and Hikaru picked his up first.

"I picked this one out myself," he whispered. He opened the box, and took the ring out.

Sakura stood in awe when she saw the ring. It was like nothing she could ever even imagine. It was silver, with little pink cherry blossoms in it. Though they were small, they were extremely well made, and it made the ring shine even brighter. He took her hand gently and slipped the ring on, and then kissed her hand. Everyone clapped.

Sakura picked up her ring next. She opened the box, and took it out. She hadn't picked it out, but it was still a very beautiful ring. Maybe Hikaru had picked it out this one himself too.

She took his hand and slipped the ring on as well, and for show, she hugged him. And then something inside of her made her talk. "I love the ring more than anything in the world," she whispered. "Except not more than you."

She surprised herself by those words, and didn't know what possessed her to say that. She couldn't mean them at all... right?

Hikaru smiled. "I love you too."

Then they let go, and looked at each other. The crowd burst into applause.

"Well, we're officially engaged now," said Hikaru happily.

"Yeah," was all Sakura could manage to say.

Today, she had betrayed Sasuke, her heart, and who she was, all for the sake of some stupid ring that she didn't even care about anymore. She just hoped that she didn't mean the words that had somehow come out of her mouth, because if she did, she would never forgive herself.

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**I know this chapter changes the story a lot, but don't worry, I promise Sasuke and Sakura will end up together! Please review =) **


	15. Chapter 15

**Here's another chapter, hope you enjoy it =)**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto. **

Sakura woke up the next day and looked over to her clock. It was late into the day, because she could see the sun peeking through her curtains. She groaned, she didn't want to get up, she was so tired.

The engagement had lasted until 4 in the morning, because some people just couldn't get enough dancing, and at 3:30, the Kings had to ask them all to leave. That whole time, Hikaru and Sakura had been forced to dance together, and that had been one of the most annoying things ever, seeing as Hikaru's fan girls were trying to take pictures of them while they were dancing. So, Sakura had to be extra careful not to trip and to look graceful, even though they were being crowded like crazy. This was why she hated these kinds of events.

She was surprised no one had come to wake her. It was probably because everyone else had woken up late too, and maybe some of them were still asleep as well.

Sakura turned and looked at her ceiling. Then, she put her arm in front of her, and stared at her engagement ring. While staring at, she actually thought about what life would be like with Hikaru. If he'd continue to act like he was acting now, maybe something could actually work out between them. She had loved Hikaru in the past, because of who he was and how he made her feel like a true princess. Even though he had changed significantly, what if now, he had changed back? Then, maybe marrying him could be bearable, and maybe she could come to love him again.

Sakura thought about Sasuke too, and about how he hadn't called her back, and how he said he was trying to help her, but wasn't actually doing anything. Was he just lying to her? Was he even going to do anything? She wanted to believe him, but against the Haruno kingdom, what could he honestly do?

Sakura sighed, and got out of bed to get ready for the rest of the day.

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Sakura climbed down the staircase, and saw Hikaru walking by. He stopped at the step, and waited for her.

"Good morning princess, how did you sleep?" he asked kindly.

"Like a rock. I was so tired from last night, my feet still hurt. What about you?" she replied.

Hikaru chuckled. "I slept pretty well too."

"Well that's good to hear." She began walking toward the dining hall, but then Hikaru grabbed her hand.

He stared at it for a second and then looked at Sakura. "You're not wearing my ring..." he said quietly.

Sakura could see the pain in his face, and there was a small part of her that actually felt bad. But it was really, really, small.

"Sorry, I was like half asleep when I was getting ready, and must've forgotten to put it on," she replied. It actually was the truth.

He let go of her hand. "Yeah right Sak. Look, if you don't want to wear it just say so, alright?"

Sakura saw how hurt he was, but she didn't know if it was all an act, or if he was actually in pain.

"But I do want to wear it Hikaru. I love that ring, it's beautiful, so why wouldn't I wanna wear it?"

His expression suddenly changed, and became softer. "Well that's good to hear Sakura," he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "If you didn't like that ring, I don't know what I would do. You are my princess after all; you deserve the ring that you want."

"Hikaru..."

There noses were almost touching, and Sakura took in Hikaru's usual, sexy, scent. Her hands were on Hikaru's chest, as she was still surprised at his words.

Hikaru gazed into Sakura's eyes, and Sakura stared back. Hikaru took this as the perfect opportunity to make his move. He finally closed the distance between their faces and kissed her. It was a passionate kiss that took Sakura completely by surprise. And somehow, Sakura found herself returning the kiss.

Hikaru finally broke the kiss, and backed away, but he kept his arm around her waist. He smiled at her, and it was a genuine smile. "Should we head to breakfast then, princess?"

She nodded, and they walked to the dining hall together, looking like the couple they were supposed to become.

**Later That Day**

"Hey Sakura, do you want to go out? I`m super bored," asked Hikaru as he stepped into Sakura's room. He saw that she was brushing her hair.

"Like go where?" she replied.

"I don't know yet, but I'll find some place, do you want to though?"

"Yeah, sure, sounds fun. Did my uncle say it was okay?"

"Yeah, he said it was a great idea, seeing as how couples should spend time together."

"Oh, well I guess that's true..." She knew her uncle didn't think that at all. She just wanted to make sure that Hikaru and she looked like a real couple to the public eye. She got up from her stool. "Well, I`m all ready."

Hikaru frowned. "You're not wearing your ring. Again."

Sakura looked at her hand and realized she wasn't. She made up a quick excuse. "I thought maybe you wanted to put it on me again."

His face lighted up. "Of course I do. I like the way you think Sakura. Where is it?"

She picked up the ring box from her oak wood dresser, and handed it to him. "Here."

He opened the box, and slipped it on her finger, and repeated the kiss on the hand from last night. Then he rubbed her hand softly. "You know, this ring has brought us closer, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess it has," she replied. In a way it had. She had told Hikaru that she loved him because of this ring.

He smiled. "Well, let's get going then, my gorgeous princess." He held her hand and led her out of the room.

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"So where do you want to go, Sakura?" asked Hikaru, as they sat in the black limo.

"I don't know, I don't know many places to go to around here. Besides school, I never really left the palace."

"Hmm... well your uncle mentioned this fountain that spewed cherry blossoms. He said it was a very romantic place."

Sakura flinched. That was the first place Sasuke had taken her. She couldn't go there, it would bring up to many memories, and plus, that was Sasuke's and hers place.

"It doesn't sound too fun, any other places he mentioned?" she replied as normally as she could.

"Well, he also said something about a garden that led to a cliff. He said the sunset from the cliff was absolutely breath taking, and the garden was beautiful too."

"Sure, that sounds great."

"Alright, driver did you hear that? Take us to that location please."

"Yes sir."

The car began moving, and Hikaru still hadn't let go of Sakura's hand. She wanted to let go, but she knew he would just grab it again, so there was really no point. She just ignored it, and gazed out the window and studied her surroundings.

"Sakura, you're so boring," Hikaru complained.

She turned to look at him again, and smiled.

"See? I just called you boring and you smile. Would it kill you to insult me back?"

"Sorry, I`m just not use to that I guess."

"What are you talking about? You used to call me plenty of thing as a kid. I still remember some of them."

"Well, things changed I guess."

Hikaru's face dropped. "Sakura, what happened to you? You used to be so lively and carefree, but now you're so uptight. It's just you and me, you can be the real you. There's no one here that can tell you to talk or act a certain way. Just be the Sakura that I knew, the **real** Sakura."

Was she really hearing this from Hikaru? He wanted her to be the real her? All Hikaru wanted was for her to be the girl that he wanted her to be, but now he wanted her to be herself? Something was wrong here, but nonetheless, she complied.

"Hikaru, you get so serious about the stupidest things. If you wanted me to be real, just say so, moron."

Hikaru grinned. "See, now that's the Sakura I`m talking about."

Sakura giggled. "Your such a tool Hikaru."

"Oh really? I`m the tool?" He suddenly grabbed Sakura's waist and pulled her in so close, their faces were almost touching. The sudden action caused Sakura to lightly blush. That was exactly what Hikaru wanted. "Now who's the tool, my dear princess?" he whispered seductively in her ear. This caused her to blush even more. Then Hikaru let go of her. Sakura was sure he would've used that moment to plant one on her, or even turn it into a make out session, but he didn't.

Instead, Hikaru was madly laughing, and Sakura just looked at him, embarrassed that she had played along with his trick so easily.

"Hmph, asshole," she replied. But she couldn't help but laugh too.

"We're here," announced the driver. He stepped out of the limo, and opened the door for Sakura and Hikaru.

"Hey Mr. IThinkI`mSoFunny, time to get out of the car."

Hikaru finally pulled himself together and stepped out of the car, and then put his hand out for Sakura, which she held onto and got up with.

"Sorry, but even you have to admit that that was hilarious."

"Whatever," she giggled.

"Princess, you lead the way along with the Prince, and I will walk behind you. Is that alright?" asked the driver.

Sakura gave Hikaru a puzzled look.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that your uncle wouldn't let us leave without a bodyguard... sorry." Then he looked at the driver/bodyguard. "That would be perfect, thank you."

Hikaru grabbed Sakura's hand and they began walking.

"My uncle's so paranoid," said Sakura, annoyed at the arrangement.

"Hey, he just wants you to be safe."

"But still, it's annoying."

Hikaru just smiled and continued walking.

The place where they had come to was in the rich part of town, obviously. There were many people that passed by and stared and pointed at. It wasn't every day that the Haruno princess came into town, and especially not with her scrumptious fiancé. Many of the teen girls eyed Hikaru, and to Sakura's surprise, Hikaru didn't even glance at them. The old him would've winked at atleast 3-4 of them, if not more. Some girls were all awed by Hikaru, and could not believe they had seen the Kimura prince in person.

"People are so annoying. Like why can't they just keep walking? We're people to ya know," said Hikaru, annoyed.

"Who cares, don't let it ruin the day," Sakura found herself saying. Why was she trying to make him feel better?

"You're right. This is one of the few days I get my beautiful princess all to myself," he said, as he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist.

Sakura smiled. "So where exactly is this garden?"

"Right up ahead," he replied."

Sakura looked, and she could see some of the exotic colors of the plants. As they got closer, more and more colors became visible. When they finally got to the gate, she could see how beautiful this place would be.

They walked over to the admission, and the receptionist looked like she was about to faint. Hikaru noticed this too.

"You know what; let's just let the bodyguard worry about paying." He told the man, and when they began walking away, the receptionist looked like she was going to commit suicide.

"Wow, girls these days. Don't they see I`m with my fiancé? Like calm your hormones."

Sakura chuckled. "Some people just don't get it."

"No kidding."

They walked through the flowers, and Sakura was amazed at how beautiful and different each of them was. She was especially excited to see the white cherry blossoms that the sign had stated were in here.

"This is beautiful, hey Sak?" Hikaru said.

"It's more than that. This place is amazing!"

"But I`m kinda disappointed. There's not a single flower in here that's more beautiful then you," he said carelessly.

Sakura looked at him, and smiled. "I don't think you're looking closely enough then."

"No, trust me, I am, but your beauty outshines all these flowers by a long shot," he said, as he stopped walking and stared at her.

Sakura stopped too, and looked at him, and noticed how sincere his face was.

Hikaru wrapped both arms her waist, and pulled her to his chest, and to Sakura's great surprise, he kissed her forehead, and then just held her.

Why was he being so sweet and loving? What did Hikaru really want? Sakura didn't know what to think anymore. But she was buying into his sweet act completely. After today, she couldn't say that Hikaru didn't care about her, because it was completely obvious to anyone that he did. He was becoming the guy that she had fallen for so many years back. He was becoming _Prince_ Hikaru.

He gently let go of her, but kept one arm around her waist.

"Come, let's stop wasting time. I know you wanna see those white cherry blossoms," he smiled."

Sakura smiled to. "How did you know?"

"Duh, your name's _Sakura_," he smirked.

Sakura just giggled, and they continued walking. They walked and walked, and finally found what they were looking for. The white cherry blossoms were breathtaking, and beautiful in all ways. The two trees that grew them were completely identical, and the way the cherry blossoms swayed in the breeze and the amount on the grass made it seem like a scene out of a romantic movie.

"This is..." Sakura couldn't even find the words to explain the beauty of it.

"Yeah, this is amazing," said Hikaru, who was almost as dazzled as Sakura.

"Oh my goodness! It's the princess and her soon to be prince! What an honour it is to meet yo-" the man was cut off.

He was put in a headlock by the bodyguard. "Who gave you permission to talk to the princess and prince? That is an unforgivable crime."

Sakura clenched her fists, and was trying to stay calm. She wanted to yell at the bodyguard so bad, and Hikaru sensed it, so he spoke first.

"This is completely un-necessary, let go of him at once," said Hikaru calmly. His voice sounded scary, even when he was calm.

"Bu-" the bodyguard began.

"Are you going to refuse a direct command? _That_ is an unforgiveable crime."

The bodyguard let go. "Please forgive me, my Prince."

"Just get out of my sight. If you're going to tail us, make sure I don't see you again."

"Yes sir." The bodyguard walked away.

The man was completely terrified and looked as if he were about to cry. Sakura walked over to him.

"I`m very sorry for that. Please forgive me for that rudeness."

"F-forgive you? I have been given the great honour of speaking to you, there is nothing to forgive!" replied the man.

"Thank you very much." Then, Sakura noticed there was a camera on a stand. "Are you the photographer here?"

"Yes princess."

"Would you mind taking a picture of my fiancé and I?"

"No not at all! It would be an honour to do so."

"Thank you," she smiled.

Hikaru smiled at her as Sakura grabbed his hand and lead him in front of the trees. Hikaru wrapped his arm around her waist, and Sakura put her hand on the opposite shoulder. The photographer took the picture, and it came out right away. He handed it to Sakura.

"It's perfect," said Hikaru.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile.

Sakura thanked the man once again, and then Hikaru and she headed for the cliff. It was almost time for the sun to go down, and they didn't want to miss it.

Sakura had seen Hikaru in a whole new light. The old him would've yelled at the man for talking to him, or told the bodyguard to handle him, but instead he stood up for the man. Hikaru had definitely changed, and the event with the old man proved it more than anything else. She was happy that the old him was back.

When they finally reached the cliff, Sakura sat down. Hikaru stared at her, surprised.

"What?" she asked.

"You, Princess Sakura, are sitting on the ground?"

"Yea..."

Hikaru sat down beside her. "Well, this is new. Sitting on the ground... never done it before."

"Really?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yeah. But, its kinda nice, and really comfortable."

Sakura chuckled. "Weirdo."

Hikaru laughed too. "Today was a really great day, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, it really was. One I`ll never forget."

"Good, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"Yeah. You know, I was thinking. For our wedding, can we have white cherry blossoms?"

"Of course, anything you want, my beautiful princess."

"Okay, something's wrong here. Hikaru, why have you changed so much suddenly? You used to call me hot and sexy before, but I haven't heard either word out of your mouth for like a week. Your being so sweet and sincere, and you're not looking down on people like you usually do. What the hell is going on?" Sakura just couldn't help herself.

Hikaru lightly grabbed Sakura's hand. "I've changed because I finally realized what you meant to me Sakura, and I finally realized how lucky I am. I'm about to marry one of the most beautiful girls in the world, and it's a girl that I`m completely in love with. Sakura, last night at the party, do you have any idea how happy you made me when you said you loved me more than anything in the world? It took me by surprise completely, and it was the happiest I'd ever been. Sakura, you're just everything to me now, and I've just begun to realize that. That's why I've changed, because **you** changed me, and you deserve the absolute best, and I`m going to try my hardest to give that to you."

Sakura was taken aback by his confession. "I, Hikaru, I mean, that's just so..."

"Yeah I know. Out of character? I`m telling you, you changed me. You're turning me into this guy that wants to give you everything in the world." Suddenly, Hikaru straightened up, and pulled Sakura to him. He stared right into her emerald orbs. "I love you."

She knew he meant it. His voice was so sincere, but sexy and seductive at the same time. She didn't know what to say.

"Its okay if you don't feel the same way. It's okay if you didn't mean what you said last night. It's okay, because I promise to make you fall for me Sakura, no matter what." And then he finally did what Sakura had been expecting all day. He put his lips to hers, and lightly kissed her. His lips hardly touched hers, and he was trying to be passionate and loving. He then kissed her with passion, and he tried to put what he felt into the kiss. Then, he deepened the kiss by slipping his tongue into her mouth when he got the chance. But it still hadn't turned into a lustful kiss; it was still the same passion and love from the beginning. Sakura found herself kissing him back the whole time. She hadn't even tried to resist it; she kissed him back with the same passion. Her hands were in his hair, playing with it and pulling it gently, and his hands had stayed around her waist, but his hold had gotten tighter.

When they finally parted for air, they looked at the beautiful sunset before them. It was breathtaking, and added to their kiss even more. Sakura found herself wanting more of him, and this time, she was the one pressing her lips against his. They made out in this beautiful scene before them, and neither were thinking about anything else except each other. Not even the raven haired boy that was trying endlessly to reach his cherry blossom.

**Two Days Later**

It was early morning, and Sakura was getting ready for her day. She was already dressed, and was just brushing her hair. Hikaru was sitting patiently on her bed, waiting for her to be done so they could go to breakfast.

All of a sudden, Sakura's familiar ring tone of her phone went off. Her phone was lying by her bedside table, and Hikaru was closer to it. She quickly dropped her brush, and went to grab it, but Hikaru saw the number first.

"Sasuke?" he exclaimed. He was about to grab it, but Sakura got it before him.

"It's none of your business," she replied, with the phone in her hand. "Anyways, I need to get this, so if you could leave for a bit..."

"Actually it is my business, seeing as you're my fiancé, and you're still talking to some peasant boy! But whatever, take your stupid call, we'll talk about it later," Hikaru said as he walked out the door. He was furious, and Sakura wanted to comfort him rather than talk to Sasuke.

"Hello?" said Sakura.

"That was a long time; I thought something might have happened. Is everything alright?"

"Ugh, no! Hikaru was in my room when you called, and he saw your name!"

"Oh... that's not good. Did he do anything?"

"He just walked out furious. I should've gone after him..."

"Huh? Why would you do that? Who cares if he's mad, just let him be Sakura."

"Yeah, but still... Well anyways, it took you this long to call me?"

"If I remember right, you were the one that said you would call me back..."

"Yeah, but you know how hard it is for me right now. My punishment is over, so Hikaru's with me most of the day, or my uncle. You could've tried to call me before the engagement Sasuke..."

"It never used to be hard for you before, even when you weren't punished, or whatever. And I would've called you, but like now, I didn't want anyone to find out."

"Yeah well, things are different now Sasuke. I don't have time to call you anymore, so if you want to talk to me, you have to call me." Sakura was getting annoyed.

"Oh, so does that mean that you don't want to talk to me anymore?"

"No! I didn't say that at all. I just don't have time, Hikaru's always with me now, like always. I can't do anything about it."

"He never used to hang around before..."

"Well I can't keep being so stubborn can I? My punishments could get worser than before, and if nothing is done, I might even end up marrying Hikaru, so I can't always be harsh to him."

"Oh, you can't? Are you forgetting what he's done to you Sakura?"

Sakura's heart dropped. She had been trying to forget those fearful events, and had been succeeding at it, until Sasuke had brought it up. "I'm trying to forget about that, okay? That's not exactly something I want to remember for the rest of my life. And besides, he's different now, he's being kind and caring to me now, and my uncle's been watching me really closely too. I can't do anything about it."

"Something makes me think that you're returning that same kindness to him..."

"Well I kind of have to don't I? People change Sasuke, and Hikaru's changing back into who he used to be. If I keep being hard to deal with, he'll just go back to being a jerk. I'm just trying to help him."

"And why should you need to help someone like him? Why does it matter anyway what he's like? In less than a month, you'll be rid of him for good, so it doesn't even matter Sakura."

"And how will I be that?"

"Because of what I'm planning."

"Look Sasuke, you seem to talk big, but I don't see you telling me anything you're planning on doing, or any signs of anything actually happening at the moment."

"Sakura, do you honestly think I'm doing nothing? Is something wrong with your head?"

"Well I don't see anything happening."

"Look _princess_, things don't happen in just a few days. Things need time to set in place in the real world. You can't always get what you want when you want Sakura. That's not how it works, maybe for you, but not for the rest of us."

Sakura was getting extremely annoyed now. He was basically saying that she was a spoiled brat that got whatever she wanted. That wasn't ever the case with her. "Is there anything else you want to say?"

"What's happened to you Sakura? How could you have changed so much in just a few days?"

"It hasn't been a few days Sasuke, it's been almost 3 weeks, and almost a whole week since you called me. Things change."

"Its Hikaru, isn't it? He's done something to you right?"

"No Sasuke, everything isn't always Hikaru's fault, okay? He's actually been with me this whole time, and cared for me, and told me he loved me. While you... you won't even call me!"

"Oh, so that's the case now... I've been replaced, have I? Ha-ha amazing, but then again, what else could you expect from a princess who always got whatever she wanted when she wanted? I knew you weren't serious about us."

"Sasuke what are you talking about? Of course I'm serious about us! You have not been replaced, I still love you the way I did before!"

"No, you don't. Your starting to have feelings for Hikaru, aren't you?"

Sakura froze. Was she beginning to have feelings for Hikaru? When they talked, she was always happy and carefree. When they were together, she always felt warm and safe and loved. And when they kissed... she had kissed him back a few times, hadn't she? Was she honestly beginning to have feelings for him?

"You don't have anything to say now, do you? I knew it, whatever; I'll call you some other time, a time when you're not so 'busy' with Hikaru. Bye." And with that, Sasuke hung up.

A few tears began to slip out of Sakura's eyes. What had just happened? She couldn't have feelings for Hikaru; her heart belonged to Sasuke, the same Sasuke that had just said those harsh things to her. But what if she did? In the past few days, she hadn't thought about Sasuke at all... but that didn't mean she was starting to have feelings for someone else. It just meant her mind was preoccupied with other things... like Hikaru.

She knew she loved Sasuke, a lot, but then what did her and Hikaru have? He told her she had changed him, had completed him, and made him happier than anyone. And she had said some things to him too. But she didn't love Hikaru. Sasuke had reminded her of what he had done to her, and after remembering that, there was no way she loved him. Cared for him? Yes. But loved him? No. She knew that, but then why couldn't she tell that to Sasuke?

Sakura heard a knock at her door. She wiped away the tears quickly. "Come in."

The door opened, and it was none other than Hikaru.

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**I know this chapter is like completely different from the others, since its mainly Sakura and Hikaru, but this is the last one that will be like this...most likely. Sasuke's going to be more active in the story now that the weddings getting closer. What could he be planning? Haha, anyways, hope you enjoyed!**

**Revieew please ! =) **


	16. Chapter 16

**Here's another chapter =) I've had a lot of time to write because its summer and I have like nothing to do, so I hope you enjoy =) **

**Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto.**

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"Are you done?" Hikaru asked as he slowly opened the door.

Sakura nodded and looked away from him. She was so confused and so many things were running around in her head. She just wanted to be alone, but she knew she had to talk to Hikaru.

Hikaru walked in, and was also looking away. He didn't go to sit beside by Sakura, but remained standing near the door. "So, are you guys dating or something?" he asked with a hurt filled voice.

Sakura shook her head. She didn't even know if there was anything between her and Sasuke anymore.

"Then why did he call you?"

"He just wanted to talk."

"Well that was a pretty short conversation for just talking. And judging by your facial expression, it seems like you got into a fight or something."

"Who knows..."

Hikaru sighed. He knew he wasn't going to get anything out of Sakura like this, and as far as he cared, he didn't really need to. She said they weren't dating and that was all he needed to hear. If she talked to him, he couldn't really do anything about it. Besides, he didn't want to throw away the progress that he had made with her. So, he decided to just let it slide.

"Well, who cares then right? Let's just continue on with the day, and pretend none of this happened, alright?" he asked, a little more cheerful.

But Sakura couldn't forget what had just happened so easily. The events that had unfolded were so painful, and she didn't know what to do about it. She was a princess though, and those duties came before everything else, so she mustered up her courage and smiled at him. "You're right, but could you just give me a few minutes? I`ll see you at breakfast."

Hikaru smiled and nodded. He left the room without a word.

Sakura walked towards her balcony and looked out into the forest where she had seen Sasuke so many times. Was he there right now? Had he seen what had just happened? Or was he somewhere else far away? She hadn't even asked him that. Maybe Sasuke was right, maybe she had changed, but that didn't mean it changed the way she felt about him. Just because Hikaru and her were getting closer, it did not mean she was forgetting Sasuke. Sasuke was the only person that had saved her from herself, and had given her meaning to life. She couldn't just forget that in a few weeks.

She wanted to call him back so badly, and to apologize, and to remind him that she loved him. But he had sounded furious, and she didn't want to make things worse. So, she decided to call him later that evening, and then she would settle everything.

Sakura knew who her heart belonged to, and no matter what, it would belong to that person and that person only.

**After Breakfast**

Hikaru and Sakura were sitting in the indoor garden, not really talking, but enjoying each other's company. They were both sitting on the same bench, while Sakura was feeding birds and Hikaru was texting someone.

"Sakura, I`m sooooooooo bored, can we go do something?" asked Hikaru.

"Like what?" she replied.

"I don't know, but can we like leave this place? We've been here for over an hour."

"But it's nice up here. Besides, it's not like there's anything fun to do in town either and you used to love this place."

"Yeah, but that was when we were seven. Now, it just gets boring after a while. Come on, let's just go for a ride or something. Just anywhere besides here."

Sakura sighed. "Alright, let's go."

Hikaru sprang up, and grabbed Sakura's hand, and pulled her up too.

"So... who were you texting?" asked Sakura.

Hikaru shrugged. "Just a friend who was asking about the wedding. Why? Jealous?" he asked slyly.

"No, I was just wondering," replied Sakura carelessly. She was in fact just wondering.

He put his arm around her shoulders. "Alright Sak, if you say so."

* * *

Sakura sat on the ride side of the limo, and was looking out the window, and Hikaru was sitting next to her with his arm draped over her shoulders.

They were driving through the rich part of the village, and Sakura saw many people walking around with fancy clothing and very nice cars. Even the kids wore gold jewellery.

"Sakuraaaa, why aren't you talking?" Hikaru whined.

"I guess there just nothing to talk about," she replied carelessly.

Hikaru removed his arm from her shoulders and frowned. "Why are you so down?"

"I`m not Hikaru, your worr-"

"Who do you think you're fooling? Even a blind person would be able to tell that something's wrong. Is it because of what happened this morning? Did that asshole say something?"

"No he didn't, and even if he did its not like you can do anything but make things worse. Nothing's wrong, maybe I just don't feel like talking."

"Whoa there Sakura, I just asked you a question and you give me all this attitude. Calm down, sorry for caring."

"Whatever."

"Fine, be like that." Hikaru moved to the other side of the limo and pulled out his phone.

Sakura didn't want to talk anyone. She just wanted to go home, lie on her bed and listen to her music. She didn't want to keep getting closer to Hikaru, because that meant drifting from Sasuke.

"Can we just go back to the palace already?" she asked.

"Whatever you say, _princess_." Hikaru told the driver to head back. He was now in a bad mood, seeing as how his alone time with Sakura had been completely spoiled.

When they got back, Sakura started heading for the stairs to go up to her room. Then Hikaru grabbed her arm.

"Aren't you at least going to come to lunch?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry."

"Still..."

"Look, if I'm not hungry why the hell do I have to come to lunch?" she snapped.

Hikaru was mad now, so he snapped back. "What the hell is wrong with you? If you don't wanna eat then just say so, instead of being such a bitch about it. If you have a problem, then don't take it out on me."

"Whatever, just let me go."

He let go of her arm. "Fine then, do whatever you want." He then walked away.

Sakura went up to her room as well. She didn't care if he was angry, she needed space, and if he couldn't understand that, then let him be. She popped in her favourite disk, and she lied down on her bed. She wanted to stay away from Hikaru for as long as possible, and hopefully now he got the message.

She just listened to her music, and gradually fell asleep.

* * *

Sakura woke up to the familiar ringtone from her phone. She rubbed her eyes and picked up her phone. She had received a text message from Hikaru.

_'I`m sorry for what I said. Please forgive me.'_

Ugh, he interrupted her nap just to say sorry? What a pain.

_'Its alright, I just want to be alone right now.' _

She got up from her bed and went over to her dresser. Her hair was a bit messy, but other than that she looked the same as before. She was surprised she had been able to fall asleep in her dress. Then she looked over at the time. It was 7:30.

Her phone rang again, and it was a reply from Hikaru.

_'Alright, that's fine, tell me when you feel better.'_

She didn't want to reply back so she threw her phone on the bed. She walked over to her balcony. The sun was still up, and the weather was still really nice. She left the window open, and changed the disc. Then she returned to her bed and picked up her blackberry, and dialled a number. Her heart started racing when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi...Sasuke."

"Hn, did you need something?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Then say it."

Sakura took a deep breath. "I've been thinking hard about my true feelings, and I know what my heart wants. Sasuke, you're the person that made me realize what I was missing, and how beautiful this world can be. You're the person that showed me how to care about someone so much you would do anything for them. You're the only person in this whole entire world that I want to be with. It doesn't matter who else may come into my life, no matter what, I'll always want you. No one else could ever compare with how much I love you. I was just confused after spending so many days with Hikaru, but now I realize how stupid that was. It's true that I care about Hikaru, but I don't care about him in the same way that I care about you. I care about him as a friend, and that's all. So I`m sorry for everything I said this morning, it was a mistake, and I was just confused."

Sasuke took a deep breath as well. "I`m sorry to. I said some things that were out of line, and I guess I didn't realize what was going on with you and him. I was just afraid that I was losing you, because no matter what, I never want to live without you. So I`m sorry."

"It's okay, I was never mad at you. I was mad at myself because of how I felt, but now that I really know what my heart wants, I feel much better."

"I feel better too, I'm glad you called me Sakura."

"Me too."

"So how have you been?"

"I've been... good. Kinda. What about you?"

"I've been the same."

"Look Sasuke, this is stupid. I'm done talking on the phone, I need to see you. And not just from my balcony, I wanna see you face to face.

"But how are you going to do that?"

"I'll... sneak out when everyone's asleep. Just tell me where you are and I'll come to you."

"Sakura don't be stupid, what if you get caught?"

"I won't, I never use to get caught before, and I used to go out almost every day."

"Sakura..."

"I'll be fine Sasuke, just have a little faith in me."

"Alright Sakura, but not for too long. What if someone comes to check on you while your asleep?"

"Then I just stuff something under my blanket to make it look like I`m there. Gosh Sasuke, I've snuck out a lot in my days, so this will be a piece of cake."

Sasuke chuckled, "I believe you, after all your Sakura Haruno. Anything's possible with you."

Sakura giggled. "That's right, I`m too cool."

Sasuke laughed.

"Okay, so I`ll text you when I'm about to leave, and come towards the palace so I'll be able to find you easier. I really don't want to find out what else lives in my backyard."

"Alright, sounds good, so I'll see you then?"

"Yes, see you then. Bye Sasuke, I love you."

"I love you too, bye."

Click

Sakura was so happy that her and Sasuke had made up, and even happier that they would finally get to see each other. Then, she heard her stomach growl.

It was now 8:00, so dinner had been half an hour earlier. So, she used the phone in her room to call the chef, and she told him to make her some pasta, and send it up to her room. She would eat, pretend to go to sleep and then leave. She knew her uncle and all the servants inside the castle all went to sleep at around 10, so she planned on leaving at 10:30. The only tricky part would be getting past the guards that surrounded the castle, since the security was doubled at night. But she personally knew the guard that protected her room from the outside at night. She would use a rope to climb from her balcony, and beg him not to say anything to anyone. He was about Sakura's age, and they were quite close, so she knew he wouldn't turn him down. She just hoped no other guard would spot her.

Sakura sighed, in a few hours, she would finally get to see her real prince, and nothing else in the world mattered to her except that.

* * *

_'I'm coming.' _texted Sakura to Sasuke.

She had tied together some of her scarves and made a rope long enough to reach the bottom. She texted Satoru, her guard, and he had gone along with Sakura's plan after a lot of convincing. Everything was set for her to see Sasuke.

She wore a black dress that was a little bit above her knees, and flip flops. She had skill in a dress, and managed to get to the bottom of her rope.

_"I am so glad I took PE all 3 years in High School," _she thought.

Once she was at the bottom, Satoru bowed to greet her.

"Please be careful princess, I have gone along with your plan, but please don't make me regret the decision."

"Don't worry Satoru, I'll be just fine. Nothing will happen; you should know I can take care of myself."

"Alright princess, have fun." He bowed again.

"Thanks a lot Satoru." With that, she disappeared into the forest.

It was really dark, and Sakura could hardly see anything. Then she felt her phone vibrate.

'_Stay where you are, I'll find you.' _

She texted back, _'Okay, I just stepped into the forest_.'

She kept her phone out so that she could see. And then, even in the pitch black, she spotted raven coloured hair.

"Sasuke..." she whispered.

He had seen her too, her pink hair stood out in the dark, and a smile instantly crossed his face. He quickly walked over to her and embraced her.

"Sasuke, I missed you so much," she whispered in his ear.

"I missed you too. I missed holding you like this." He then stared into her eyes. "And I missed those beautiful, beautiful eyes."

"Sasuke..."

He crashed his lips onto hers, and they kissed passionately and fiercely. It had been so long since either had held each other, and they had missed each other dearly. Nothing could separate them right now; they were off in their own little world.

They finally pulled away for air, but neither let go of each other. They just stared into each other's eyes and didn't say anything. Then Sasuke broke the silence.

"I love you Sakura, words can't even begin to explain how much. I missed all of this so much, holding you in my arms, staring at your dazzling eyes and just being with you. It just reminded me of how far I'm willing to go for you, and that I'll fight for you, no matter what."

"I love you too Sasuke, if I didn't know it before, I know it now for sure. Only you take up my heart Sasuke, no one else could ever compare to you. You're just my everything."

Sasuke smiled. "I'm so happy to hear you say that."

Sakura smiled too, and then she put her lips to his, and they kissed again. This time it was shorter, but still just as passionate.

"You should head back now," whispered Sasuke.

"But I don't want to go back. I never want to go back. I just want to stay with you forever."

"I do too, believe me, but we both know you can't. But we'll be together, I promise you that. No matter what may happen, in the end, you and I will be together."

Sakura nodded. She didn't want to let go just yet, so she rested her head on his chest. His hold on her waist tightened and he rested his head on hers. They stayed like that for a few minutes and then Sasuke gently let her go, but not before kissing her forehead.

"You should go."

Sakura nodded, and gave him a quick kiss, that Sasuke deepened and turned into something more. He just didn't want to let her go, but he knew he had too.

"Bye Sakura, I'll call you. I love you so much."

"I love you too... bye." She turned around painfully and walked away from the love of her life. She had tears in her eyes, but she refused to cry. She had finally seen him, and for now, she had to believe that that was good enough. She quickly wiped the tears before returning to the palace.

When she got there, Satoru was waiting. When he saw her, he gave her a look of relief.

"Thank goodness you're alright. I was about to go search for you, I was worried because you took so long."

Sakura smiled. "Sorry for making you worry and thank you for everything you've done for me. I don't know how to repay you."

"That smile of yours is payment enough," he said with a smile.

"Thank you Satoru. I guess I should head up to my room now."

"Yes that would be best, if you'd like, I can help you."

"Nah, this is a piece of cake." She climbed up to her balcony in less than a minute. "See?" she called down.

Satoru looked at her amazed, and Sakura just giggled. "Good night Satoru."

"Good night, princess."

Sakura sighed. Words didn't even begin to explain how happy she was.

"Where have you been?" asked a voice from behind her.

She turned around, terrified, and saw the familiar face of her fiancé.

"Hikaru..."

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**Sorry for the short chapter, I just thought this made a great cliff hanger. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Review please =) **


	17. Chapter 17

**Here's another chapter, hope you enjoy it. =D**

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"Hikaru..." she spoke.

"Well, where were you?" he asked her calmly.

"I was just out for a stroll. It's so nice out with all the stars and the mo-"

"Really Sakura? You could at least come up with a better excuse."

Sakura's face dropped and she looked down.

"You went to see him, didn't you?"

"No! I don't eve-"

"Sakura, don't lie. I can tell when you are."

"Okay, fine, I went to go see him, what are you gonna do about it?"

"I knew it... Sakura, what the hell even happened between us? One day we're this lovey dovey couple, and the next day you're going to see a peasant boy! What happened?"

Sakura smirked. "Do you really want to know what happened? Alright I'll tell you. You RAPED me Hikaru, that's what happened."

Hikaru was taken back, and his face dropped, and Sakura saw the regret in his expression.

"You have no idea how sorry I am for doing that. It was a mistake, a really big one. I just couldn't stand you being in love with that jerk, and I felt like I had to do something."

"So you thought raping me was the solution? Look Hikaru, no matter what you do, and no matter how much you apologize, it still doesn't changed the fact that you raped me. Nothing's going to change that."

"What's the big deal anyways huh? You're acting like I raped you of your virginity. We've done that before Sakura, so I don't get why you're making such a big deal out of it now."

Sakura was shocked at his words. "So, just because we've done it before, it makes raping me okay? No Hikaru, it doesn't. Nothing makes it okay, and besides, I was a different person then."

Hikaru smirked. "People don't change Sakura, they just try being someone their not. Your still that person Sakura, I could tell that night that you were."

"I`m not... I'm not that girl anymore Hikaru. People do change, and I've changed a lot."

He started walking towards her. "Really?" He was right in front of her now, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. He then put his lips on her neck, and kissed it. He trailed butterfly kisses from her neck to her ear, while talking the whole time. "So you're saying you're not the girl that enjoys this? Because I think you still are. I think the girl that would literally do anything for me is still in there somewhere, and I've been trying to find her."

Sakura just stood still the whole time.

Hikaru then put one of his hands on Sakura's left breast and squeezed it.

"Hikaru..." she moaned.

He continued with kissing her neck, and even left a small mark. "If you want me to stop, then just say so, but you know that you're enjoying this."

He then looked into her eyes, and lightly placed his lips on hers. He knew how to seduce her, so he started with just lightly kissing her, and to his delight, she kissed him back. He then deepened the kiss by licking her lips, and Sakura opened for him.

Sakura didn't know what was taking her over. She couldn't push him off her, and she found herself locking lips with him, just minutes after she had been with Sasuke...

Sasuke.

She shoved Hikaru off of her. "You're sick."

He smirked. "I made more progress then I had expected to. Looks like you really are the same girl as before, and that was all I wanted to know. "

"If I was the same girl, I would've let you kept going. But I didn't, because I've changed. I'm not the desperate girl that wants your love anymore."

Hikaru smiled. "Whatever you say, Sakura. For this performance, I won't tell your uncle that you snuck out. But if it happens again, I will tell him, unless you're willing to pay the price for keeping your secret safe. Good night princess." With that, he left the room.

_"What a jerk!"_ she thought. It was true that she had done many things with him that she regretted, but she wasn't that pathetic little girl that was going to run after him.

* * *

**Flashback**

Outside Prince's Princess Boarding School

A 15 year old Sakura walked through her campus with her friends, wearing a very revealing blue dress.

"Sakura, I am in love with your dress, where'd you get it?" asked Chizuko.

"Hikaru bought me it, and insisted I wore it for our date today," she replied happily.

All of her friends gave her puzzling looks.

"Look guys, I know Hikaru's been a jerk, but this time he was sincere about us getting back together. I just have a really good feeling that it will last this time."

There friends just nodded and changed the subject. They had heard this literally 15 times. That's how many times Sakura and Hikaru had broken up throughout the school year, and right now, it was only December. They never lasted longer than two weeks, and after that, one would get sick of the others bullshit and break up. In the time before they got back together, Hikaru would go on a girl rampage. He had slept with every single one of Sakura's friends, but of course they never told her that. They didn't care how close they were to the pink haired princess, getting with Hikaru was every girl's dream, and usually the reasons why Hikaru dumped Sakura was because she refused to go all the way with him.

"I won't have sex until I'm married," she would say.

"But we're going to get married anyways, so why does it matter when we have it?" he would fight back.

But in the end, Sakura would always win, which led to Hikaru breaking up with her, and Sakura crying her eyes out for two days, and then not eating for 2 days after that.

Her friend's tried changing the subject of Hikaru, but Sakura just couldn't stop talking about him.

"I really can't wait until tonight, he's taking me to this new restaurant that's like, 2 hours away from here, and then we got a president suite in a hotel around there. It's going to be so romantic."

"Do you think Hikaru will, you know, try making his move on you again?" asked Kasumi.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't think so, because he knows I won't do anything with him."

Kasumi just smirked. That hadn't stopped the seductive prince before.

Just then, Hikaru and his group of friends came in view. When he saw Sakura in the dress he had gotten her, he instantly smirked. He was surprised she had actually worn it, seeing as how it showed a lot of cleavage, and was barely covering her bum.

He saw her and her group of friends coming towards them. He had told her to meet up with him at about this time, and she looked ready, so he assumed they could leave right away.

"Hikaru," she said, smiling.

He pulled her into a hug, and put his hands dangerously low, and then pulled her into a kiss. "How's my favourite princess doing?"

She smiled, not caring that his hands were on her ass. "I'm great, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, do you wanna leave right now?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

"Alright, I'll see you guys later than, and see you girls around," he said to the rest of the group.

They all said bye, and Hikaru and Sakura headed to his car.

"Sakura, I have to say, you look incredibly sexy in that dress."

"Thanks Hikaru," she said with a smile. "It's not really my style, but everyone else said it looks good, so I guess I should start buying more dresses like this one."

"Then you'd go from being a 10 to a 20."

Sakura just smiled. She loved when Hikaru commented her; it always made her feel special.

_"This girl is just too damn innocent for her own good. I wonder why she hangs out with the sluts." _Hikaru thought.

When they sat inside Hikaru's Audi, he stared into Sakura's eyes, and she knew what that meant. They both leaned into each other and started kissing. Then, making out. And then Hikaru started grabbing her ass, and for once, Sakura decided to let it go. They had just gotten back, so it would just be a onetime thing.

Hikaru finally pulled away from her, leaving Sakura to pout.

"Don't worry babe, we'll have plenty more time for this after dinner."

Sakura lit up, and Hikaru started laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked, oblivious.

"You just love me too much don't you?"

She nodded. "More than anything in this world."

"Awe, well I love you too," he said. _"Your hot body, that is," _he thought.

They pulled out of the school's parking lot and hit the road. Most of the ride was just talking that Hikaru tried making sexual, but Sakura was too innocent to do anything but blush. This was why he always broke up with her. Yeah, she was the kind of girl that he would want as a wife, and she was a really nice girl, but this was high school, and he just wanted to have a good time with girls, not just take them out on dates.

They had to stop for gas once, and in that time, Hikaru was on the phone with someone Sakura assumed was one of his friends, but actually was one of his many fan girls, and this one had already been with.

"Hikaru-kun, where are you? Why don't you come over tonight?" she asked, hoeishly.

"Look, I'm with my girlfriend, and I don't cheat on her. And I only ever sleep with a girl once, so don't ever call me again, you hoe," and then he clicked his phone off and went back inside the car.

"Hey, who was on the phone?" asked Sakura.

"Oh, it was just Ichiro, just asking where we were," he lied smoothly.

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah, so do you want anything to drink or something? I'll go get it if you want," he asked her.

"No, it's alright; I don't like buying anything from commoner stores."

He smirked. "Alright, then let's roll. Only about 30 minutes left."

Sakura nodded happily.

The rest of the trip was quiet, but occasionally, Hikaru would run his hand up and down Sakura's bare thigh, causing her to moan slightly. After hearing it, he would smirk, and stop.

When they finally arrived, Sakura was impressed. The restaurant was above fancy, it was almost as nice as the ballroom was for parties. Hikaru had obviously gotten the most expensive table, which was on the second floor, outside, and with violinists playing. Hikaru had reserved the whole space for them, so it was just the two of them outside.

"I'm so glad we got back together Hikaru, I missed you," Sakura said happily.

"Yeah, same here, I didn't know what to do without my pink haired princess."

Sakura blushed. She had absolutely no clue of what Hikaru did when they were not a couple.

There food finally arrived and they ate silently, and just enjoyed the romantic music. After they were done, Hikaru paid for the food, and they left.

"So did you like it?" asked Hikaru during the drive to the hotel.

"Yes, I loved it!"

"Good."

When they got to the hotel room, Hikaru immediately took his shirt off, causing Sakura to blush when she saw his abs.

They were both used to president suite, and so it was pretty casual. Sakura was about to change into her night clothes, seeing as how it was almost 12, but Hikaru stopped her.

"Don't change yet Sakura, the nights still young," he said.

"But this dress is too tight and it keeps com-" she was cut off by Hikaru's lips pressing on hers. She immediately returned the kiss and her hands went into Hikaru's hair.

Hikaru's arms were on Sakura's lower waist, and his hands were feeling her butt. Sakura blushed at this, and at how she was pressed up against Hikaru's naked upper body.

Hikaru carried her to the bed, and set her down. He supported himself with his hands and they continued kissing.

They finally pulled away for air, and Hikaru saw Sakura's breasts almost popping out of the baby blue strapless. This turned him on, and Sakura eventually saw what he was looking at and turned red. She quickly got off the bed and pulled up her dress.

She began walking towards the washroom, but Hikaru grabbed her hand.

"Where are you going?"

Sakura was so embarrassed that she was stuttering. "T-to the w-washr-room."

He pulled her lightly towards his chest, and whispered seductively, "I don't think so." He began kissing her again, and this time he squeezed her ass, causing her to pull away.

"Hikaru," she said in a low tone.

"Oh come on Sakura, lighten up a bit. Didn't you like it when I was rubbing my hand up your thigh? Or when I was feeling your ass? Imagine that feeling, just ten times better."

"Hikaru, I told you already, I'm no-"

"Yea yea, you're not having sex until your married, but seriously, who the hell is like that nowadays? You already know we're going to get married, so why do you use that excuse?"

"I know that but..."

"But what? Look Sakura, either we do this, or we're done, for good. And I'll give my virginity to some other girl that ACTUALLY loves me and wants me."

Sakura was hurt by his words. She really didn't want to lose him again, he was the only person she could ever see herself with, and she loved him so much. So, she finally decided.

She roughly put her lips to his, and Hikaru took that as a yes. He roughly made out with her, while carrying her back to the bed, leaving her lips bruised. That was the night that Sakura transformed from the innocent little girl into the type of girl that did anything a guy told her to. She had become Hikaru's play toy, and she loved it.

As their relationship went on, the things that she did with Hikaru got dirtier, and she was completely lost in her lust. She loved what they were doing, and Hikaru loved her in return. She started wearing skimpier clothes, and flirted a lot more with other guys. It was a completely perfect relationship to her, until a particular day.

Sakura was walking to Hikaru's room, wanting to surprise him for their 6 month anniversary. She knew he'd probably be in the shower, since he hadn't returned any of her calls, so she brought her spare key.

But when she went inside the room, she found something that she wasn't expecting.

Hikaru had a half naked girl up against his bedroom wall, and was fiercely making out with her. She dropped the key, and tears began forming in her eyes.

"Hikaru?" she whispered.

When he heard her voice, he immediately dropped the girl and snapped his head towards the door. There was his fiancé, standing in the door, crying and heartbroken. When they made eye contact, she ran out of the room.

"Sakura, wait!" he called.

She just continued running, until she was out of the dorm building. That was when he finally caught up with her. He grabbed her shoulder, but she jerked away from him.

"Don't touch me you asshole!" she exclaimed.

"Sakura just listen to me."

"I don't want to listen to anything you have to say ever again. How could you do this to me? To us? I thought you loved me Hikaru, I really thought you did. I did everything for you, and now you're cheating on me with some skank? I changed for you, but now I'm done. We're done, and no matter what you do, that's not going to change."

"Sakura it was just a onetime thing, look I'm sorry, ple-"

"I don't wanna hear it. I don't need an explanation." With that she walked away, and didn't look back once.

That was when Sakura changed. She knew she could never trust in Hikaru again, and she knew she could never believe in love. She changed the way she looked, she changed the way she acted, and kept almost every single person she trusted out of her life. She was alone, and she only trusted herself.

She thought that her relationship with Hikaru would end there, but to her dismay, it didn't. Hikaru always got her alone, got her drunk, and violated her. He forcibly pulled her into kisses in front of his friends, just so he could look cool. And Sakura finally discovered what he did with other girls when they didn't have a relationship

He was a monster, and she knew that from the bottom of her heart. But no matter what she told herself, and no matter what she did, she knew a part of her still loved him, and she knew a part of him still loved her.

**End of Flashback**

**

* * *

**

Sakura was lying in her bed, just thinking about the slutty girl she used to be. She disgusted herself, and thought back to all the things she had done with Hikaru, and realized that she had to change who she was, and throw away all of her values and beliefs to be with him. She would never have to do any of that with Sasuke.

_"So, he still thinks I'm the same desperate little girl? Boy, is he misguided," _she thought to herself and smirked. She then went to bed, thinking about the important event that had happened that evening.

* * *

**10 Day Time Skip, 9 Days Before the Wedding**

The last ten days had been almost the same. Hikaru was still trying to win Sakura over, by love during the day and by lust during the night. It was easier to resist him now then it had before, since she had finally figured out her feelings. She didn't want to make Hikaru mad, so she still remained kind, but didn't kiss him and just stuck with hugging. At night, when Hikaru expected to have hot make out sessions, Sakura could usually get out of it, but sometimes let him. She wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with Hikaru, without being too friendly. Instead, she tried talking to him more, and trying hard to bring out the Hikaru she used to know. Sometimes, she was successful, but most of the time, Hikaru just used it as a way to kiss her or do something else, or he just avoided the topic.

Today, she was going out dress shopping for her Masquerade dress, and then tomorrow she was going for her wedding dress. Basically, Sakura picked out the kind of dress she wanted, and then it was personally made for her, and given its own personal touch, which was usually a cherry blossom flower or petal somewhere on the dress.

Her relationship with her mother hadn't improved much at all. They barely exchanged words, and the only time they did was when it was absolutely necessary. Sakura liked it this way, after all, someone who wouldn't do anything for her life didn't deserve to be a part of it.

Sakura called Sasuke every chance she got. She wanted to talk to him, and see how he was doing, and she always tried to convince him to tell her about this plan that he was keeping secret from her, but he just told her she would find out shortly. They hadn't met again, seeing as how Hikaru was in Sakura's room almost every night, and he was usually with her during the day. So, they just texted and called each other to stay in touch.

Sakura was escorted to her limo by Hikaru, and then he kissed her on the cheek and she got in and left. She went to the usual dress shop in the rich part of town, and her bodyguard escorted her inside the shop. The King was being extra careful after a princess from another kingdom had been assassinated at a clothing store. She had a bodyguard with her anytime that she wasn't inside the palace.

She already knew what kind of dress she wanted. She wanted a very light purple gown, something that would flow when she walked. She looked around the shop and finally found what she was looking for.

It was a medium purple strapless gown with a little corset. It was really sparkly and glittery, which was perfect for the occasion. She would be a purple star in this dress. She giggled at the thought.

"Michika-san, I want this one," said Sakura.

"That is a perfect choice princess! I will send all the details to your tailor."

"Thank you very much."

Next step was to pick out a mask. She wanted a butterfly mask that would go perfectly with her gown. Michika showed Sakura the masks that were the exact same color as her dress, but she didn't like any of them. Instead, she liked a lime green mask, that had wings on both sides, and there were intricate designs in blue. Sakura wanted this one, so she told her to get her the exact same mask, except in the same shade of purple as her dress, and the designs done in cherry blossom pink. She wrote down all the details and assured her she would get it made.

Sakura went back to the palace, and was surprised to see it had taken her all afternoon, and it was already 6.

She went up to her room, and freshened up a bit. She couldn't wear something more comfortable because she still had to go down for dinner, so she just tied up her hair, popped a CD in her boom box, opened the window, and looked outside. It was still day, and there was not a cloud in sight. It was days like these where Sakura missed her dates with Sasuke. She always had so much fun, and she wanted so badly to do it all over again.

She sighed, and sat on her bed, and started looking through her phone, which she had hid in her room. She didn't take it with her because she didn't want anyone to see her using it, and she hid it because she didn't want Hikaru to see it. She had one missed text and one call from Sasuke. The call was from around 4, and the text was recent, about 30 minutes ago.

She got up and locked her door. Then she dialled Sasuke's number.

"Hello?"

"Hi Sasuke."

"How's my princess doing? Did you get your dress?"

"Yes, I just got back a little while ago."

"That took a while, but then again it is you," smirked Sasuke.

Sakura giggled. "Whatever Sasuke, it takes a while to find something perfect."

"Whatever you say Sakura. So how's your day been?"

Just then, Sakura heard a knock at the door. "Sorry Sasuke, someone's here, I'll talk to you later, love you, bye," and she quickly hung up.

She didn't like abruptly hanging up on Sasuke, but she had no choice. "Come in," she called.

The door opened, and it was the king.

"Why is your door locked Sakura?" he asked.

"Sorry, I was just feeling tired so I was planning on taking a nap and didn't want to be disturbed."

"Oh, alright. Well, did you find a dress today?"

"Yes, and its beautiful."

"I hope this time you picked a nicer one, one that's brighter and dazzling. After all, it's your wedding, and you should be the most beautiful girl there."

"Don't worry uncle, this time I picked a better one."

"Good. So, you must be pretty excited, you're getting married in ten days."

"It's all just still sinking in. It's hard to believe, it all happened so quickly."

"I agree. Well, it's not like that matters, you've loved Hikaru all these years, and finally you two will get to spend the rest of your lives together, and then the rule of this kingdom will be passed down to you."

She had almost forgotten about that. A week after the wedding, which was also her 18th birthday, she would become the queen of the kingdom, and she would rule. A coronation usually took place, and traditionally the new queen or king was taken to town square at the village, and would get crowned. Only important people were allowed, but people watched from hills or from their houses. It was the only time where the queen or king officially went to the village.

"Yes, and I cannot wait to become queen."

"And you will also have your king helping you along the way. Im sure you'll make this place great, Sakura."

"Thank you, uncle."

"Your welcome. Well, I guess I'll see you at dinner then, rest well." With that he shut the door and left.

Sakura wondered how Sasuke's plan would change the course of things. Was he planning on kidnapping her? She just wished he would tell her already.

Then, she heard another knock at her door, and this time she knew it was Hikaru.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened, and in walked her fiancé. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.

"How's my princess doing?" he asked, kissing her cheek.

"I'm good, what have you been up to today?"

"Nothing, just been with your uncle."

"You're with him a lot nowadays. Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing, just a lot to discuss," he said, nervously.

She saw the expression on his face. He was nervous and uncomfortable. "Hikaru, if something's wrong you know you can tell me right? I'm here to talk to."

"It's nothing, um, I'll see you at dinner," and he quickly left.

"What was that about?" she asked herself. What in the world would make Hikaru, of all people, nervous? What was her uncle saying to him? Whatever it was, it was serious, if it made Hikaru uncomfortable. She had to do some digging around.

* * *

Sakura was walking down the stairs to go to dinner. For once, she was hungry, so she went down earlier than usual. While walking, she saw Hikaru and her uncle coming out of the King's room, quietly talking to each other. But when they saw Sakura, they stopped, and smiled at her. Hikaru walked towards her and linked arms.

"You're early," he said, kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, I was hungry. What were you and uncle discussing just now?"

"Nothing Sakura, we were just casually talking, it's nothing to worry about." When he spoke, he almost sounded... scared.

Sakura knew it was nothing, she knew something big was happening, but she just didn't know what. She then realized that Hikaru and her uncle always showed up to dinner together, sometimes late. Did they have these secret meetings every day?

After dinner, Hikaru went up to Sakura's room with her. She purposely took an extra hour in the washroom, showering and doing her hair, and when she came out, it was already 10, and it was dark outside. She was about to open the door, but then she heard muttering.

It was Hikaru's voice for sure, but it was too quiet to understand. So, she opened her door slightly, and saw him looking out the window in her room. She could hear him a bit more clearly.

"I can't... I don't... how am I going to... this is so wrong."

That was all she could make out of the words, so she gave up and opened the door. Hikaru instantly stopped talking and turned to her with a smile.

Sakura saw it was fake, and not the usual fake ones that looked real, no, this one was extra fake. He was also slightly sweating. What had Hikaru so frightened?

"Took you long enough, Sakura," he said, as normally as he could.

"Sorry, had to shower and stuff. But come on, let's go to bed," she said happily. She had to get something out of Hikaru, even if it meant seducing it out.

Hikaru's face lit up. He went to her and kissed her lightly on the lips. She kissed him back, and he picked her up and took her to the bed.

"You're in a good mood today," he said between kisses. He set her down and he pulled away and lied down beside her.

She turned to face him. "Something's wrong, so I wanna help it go away. I just want you to be happy," she said, while playing with his hair.

This time, he didn't get nervous or scared, but instead put a loose strand of Sakura's hair behind her ear. "Nothing's wrong, if I have the girl of my dreams right here beside me, how could anything be wrong?" He lightly put his lips to her and she barely kissed him back and then she pulled away.

"Hikaru, I can tell when your lying. If something's wrong tell me, after all, you're going to be my husband pretty soon aren't you?"

Hikaru bit his lip and Sakura saw he was trying his hardest to not tell her what was going on, but she had to know.

Then, he regained his composure, and smiled at her. "Nothing is wrong, if something was, you'd be the first person I would tell."

Hikaru was too afraid to tell her anything, she knew that, so she had to give up on trying to get him to spill. Instead, tomorrow, she would try spying on these meetings that had been taking place.

* * *

**The Next Evening**

Sakura was standing at the railing of the staircase, looking down too see when Hikaru would go to see her uncle. Then, she saw his brown hair, and before going inside the King's room, he looked around. Was he looking for anyone who might see him?

Then, Kiseki stood in front of the door. That meant her uncle didn't want anyone near there while him and Hikaru talked. But she knew a way around that. A while back, Hikaru and Sakura had discovered a secret way to get to the King's room. It was small, but she knew she would be able to hear them through it. She quickly went there, and she was right. She could hear everything clearly.

She listened to their plan, and her eyes widened. It was horrendous, and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She realized also why Hikaru had been so scared. She knew that he really did care about her, and that this plan was too much for him.

"This letter has explained everything that is going to happen. I'm sending it to your brother Hikaru, because we will definitely need his assistance if we want this to work," she heard her uncle say.

That letter was the key to revealing their plan, and the key to getting out of her marriage with Hikaru. She needed that letter, but she had no clue how to get it. But she needed to tell Sasuke about all of this, and fast.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUH! Sorry, I had to put that cliffy there, and also sorry because you won't be finding out what the plan is until the wedding day. Sorry if I'm rushing the story a bit, but I just want to get to the good part. **

**REVIEW PLEASE! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Woah, its been so long since I updated =| I'm so sorry, my computer crashed and I've had a lot of things going on, but here's another chapter ! Hope you enjoy =) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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Sakura quickly ran up to her room, as sneakily as she could, and locked the door. Tears began forming in her eyes, and she fell to the floor. How could her uncle do that to her? This whole time she had thought Hikaru was the bad guy but now she knew everything that Hikaru had done to her was all because of her uncle. For power, he was willing to go that far and he didn't even care about the relationship he had with her. Power was truly a horrible thing.

Sakura got up and wiped the tears away, but fresh ones replaced them. She had to tell Sasuke everything, and she had to do it at that very moment, because it was imperative that she got hold of that letter. She grabbed her phone and dialled his number.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end said.

"Sasuke, I have to tell you something, but your not going to like it," she sobbed.

"I'm listening," he said.

And she told him everything she had overheard.

**The Next Day**

Sakura was walking out of the door of her bedroom to go for lunch when she saw Hikaru on the other side of the floor, in his room. She knew he was scared and nervous and didn't want to go through with her uncle's plan, so she decided to go see how he was.

"Good morning Hikaru," she said sweetly.

Hikaru, who was looking out his bedroom window, turned around and stared at her. His face was sincere and his eyes were full of hurt and regret. He walked over to her, and put his hand on her cheek, and stared into her eyes. He slowly put his lips on hers, but pulled away before she could respond.

"Good morning, princess," he said, still gazing into her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" she asked sincerely. Sakura had never seen Hikaru like this. Even after fights with his father and brother, he had never been this... distant and sad. Did he really feel like this about her?

"No, it's nothing, I've just never really looked at you. I never noticed how truly beautiful your eyes were, how unique your hair was, and how you really made me feel. I wish I had noticed all those years ago, and been with you and only you," he said very softly. "I never noticed how much I really loved you."

"Hikaru..." she said, not knowing what to say.

He then looked away, regained his composure, and looked like his normal self. "Well then, should we head to breakfast?" he said, offering her his hand.

She put her hand in his and they locked fingers, "Yes, let's go."

They went downstairs and walked into the dining hall. Everyone was already seated, except the King and Queen. Hikaru looked a tad puzzled, but ignored it.

The king and queen walked in a few minutes after. They apologized for being late and everyone began eating. Sakura was only looking at her food, even when she saw her uncle eyeing her. That was until someone finally spoke.

"Sakura, today is the day to go and pick out your wedding dress. In the past, the princess's father was the one who would go with her to select the dress, but as that is not possible, I will be accompanying you. There is only seven days left after all, and the masquerade ball is coming up. Today could be the only free day to go," said the king.

Sakura finally looked up at him. "So, your going to accompany me as my father? Wouldn't it be more appropriate for my **real** mother to take me?" she asked.

"If that is what you want," said that king calmly.

"It is."

"Very well, Asami, please go with Sakura today."

"I would be honoured to," she said with watery eyes.

Sakura didn't look at her mother. She didn't want her getting the wrong idea. The reason she didn't want to go with her uncle was because she didn't feel comfortable with him, especially while shopping. At least with her mother, she could ignore her and do her own thing.

"Can I come?" asked Hikaru jokingly.

Sakura smiled at him. "Of course not, it's bad luck."

"I know, but I wish I could."

Sakura giggled, and Hikaru smiled at her. From the corner of her eye, she could see her uncle eyeing Hikaru, and trying to make contact with him, but he either didn't see it, or chose to ignore it.

"Well then, I need to go attend to some mail. There are a few more wedding invitations to be sent, so I will go attend to those. Sakura and Asami, you two should leave early, and make sure you take two or three guards with you. We wouldn't want something bad to happen to the two of you, now would we?"

The queen nodded in response.

Sakura knew what mail her uncle was talking about, and she knew it wasn't just wedding invitations. She had wanted to get that letter, but by doing so it would have made everything to obvious. Instead, Sakura had a different plan.

"Well then, Sakura, go freshen up a bit, and I will meet you outside in twenty minutes," her mother said happily.

"Alright," she replied, not looking at her. She got up from her seat, but someone grabbed her wrist.

"I won't get to see you all day, so I'll come with you now," said Hikaru.

Sakura nodded and they walked up to her room. She had wanted to call Sasuke, but Hikaru hadn't allowed that to happen.

"Sakura, is something wrong?" he asked.

She looked at him. "No, why do you ask?"

"Well, you chose going shopping with your mother over your uncle. I thought you didn't like her?"

"It beats going with my uncle, at least my mom can give me her opinion."

"Are you sure that's the only reason?"

Sakura got worried. Did he already figure it out? "Hikaru, you know my uncle, he's kind of... intimidating. I don't want him looking at me in a dress with disapproval, you know?"

"Oh, alright. That makes more sense. I thought maybe you just didn't want to go with him."

Sakura smiled. "So, what are you planning on doing today?"

Hikaru looked away from her, which was very strange. "Oh, nothing, the usual," he said.

"What is the usual?" laughed Sakura.

"Oh nothing, just doing errands and stuff for your uncle. Speaking of which, I think he might need some help. I'll see you when you get back," he said. He left the room without even glancing at Sakura.

_"Okay, that was __seriously__ weird. What are him and uncle planning on doing today? Did I miss some of their conversation?" _she thought. She decided to just ignore it. She couldn't really do anything about what they were planning at the moment so might as well just ignore it. Instead, she took this opportunity to call Sasuke, and tell him what she was planning.

"Hello?" said Sasuke on the phone.

"Hi, good morning," she said happily.

"Good morning, beautiful. How are you? You sound like you're in a good mood."

"It's because I heard your voice. I'm going wedding dress shopping today too."

"Oh, Sakura, and oh, excited?"

"Not really, I'm going with my mother."

"Sakura, just give her a chance, she's really nice. It's just hard to deal with problems when you don't have power."

"Well... that was something I thought you would never say. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, of course, but I'm just saying. I've been in that palace, and it's hard to stand up for you or anyone when there are so many people looking down on you. That's probably how your mother feels. She wants to protect you Sakura, trust me; it's just that she's not in a good position."

"Sasuke, you're the one that taught me it doesn't matter who you are, or how much power you have, but what matters is the heart of the person. If you have a good heart, then you can do anything. It's just that my mother is a coward and doesn't have a heart. She only cares about herself and how people view her in this palace. It's pathetic."

"Sakura..."

"There's no point in talking about this. What I wanted to tell you was that today, Uncle is sending the letter. So, I thought that I should personally call Kichirou and talk to him about this plot."

"But what if he's already with your uncle and Hikaru, and what if he tells them that you know?"

"He won't."

"How can you know that for sure?"

"Because..." Sakura hesitated.

"Because?"

"Because, he's in love with me."

"What?"

"Sorry Sasuke, I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true. Or it used to be true. Well, I'm not sure, but a year ago he confessed to me, and then tried to talk his father into marrying me, instead of Hikaru marrying me, but because of the age difference, his father said no. But Kichirou is different, Sasuke, he's nothing like Hikaru. He actually is sincere and is a good person, and would never want to hurt me. He'd protect me at any cost."

"Well... since we're on the topic, is there any other guys that are in love with you that I should know about?" asked Sasuke jokingly.

Sakura giggled, "No there isn't, don't worry Mr. Jealous, I'm all yours."

"Hey, I'm not jealous."

"Uh-huh, anyways, do you think I should do it? Because we're going to need proof of their plan, and that letter is the only proof I can think of."

"Wait, but if Kichirou is in love with you, why would your uncle and Hikaru tell him? Wouldn't they know that he loves you?"

"Kichirou only ever told his father and me. Hikaru never knew and neither did my uncle, so they probably think he would take their side no matter what."

"Oh, okay that makes sense now. Well then, I think you should do it, but tell him not to bring any soldiers or anything other than himself and that letter."

"Why? If we have soliders we can come up with a plan and-"

"No Sakura, then it interferes with my plan."

"Oh Sasuke, when are you going to tell me about this plan of yours? I've been waiting forever."

"Soon, very, very soon."

"Alright then mystery man, I think I should go now, or else my mother might come check on me. I'll call you soon, okay? Bye, I love you."

"I love you too, bye."

Click

Sakura took one last glance in her mirror and then went downstairs. Today was going to be painful.

"Your back already?" asked Hikaru as he saw Sakura step out of the limo.

"Yeah," she said in an angry tone.

"Woah, whats wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," she said as she brushed past him.

Hikaru grabbed her arm. "Your not getting off that easy. Care to explain?" he asked.

"Ugh, lets just go to my room, away from my stupid mother," said Sakura as she stormed off, practically dragging Hikaru.

She went up to her room, slammed the door, and sat down on her bed. Hikaru sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her to his chest. "Whats wrong?"

"She ruins everything! Like every little thing in my life! And now she's going to ruin this wedding. Like its just so frustrating!"

"Okay, what happened?" he asked calmly.

"Okay, so we go to the place and I'm looking around. I see a few dresses I like and I tried them on. One of them had a very low back, one showed too much cleavage, one was too low, and blah blah blah! It's my dress, so I should be the one choosing it, NOT her. So, I gave up, and let her just pick whatever dress she wanted, so now I'm going with that one."

"Thats stupid. Why not just go now with your uncle and change it?" suggested Hikaru.

"No, I'm not even in the mood anymore. Whatever, the dress she picked isn't half bad, but still, I wanted to choose it myself."

"Yeah, I know Sak, don't worry, you look beautiful in everything you wear. It's just a dress."

"Thanks, Hikaru. So, enough about my shitty day, how was yours?"

"Uh, it was fine, nothing special," he said. Sakura could feel the arm that was on her shoulders get stiff. So, something had gone on.

"Oh, well, its better than having a bad day, right? And, I had been thinking, its been awhile since I've seen or talked to Kichirou. He wasn't at the engagement, so I was wondering if you had his number? Or is it still the same?"

Hikaru stiffened even more. "Sakura, your going to see him at the masquerade ball anyways, can't you wait 5 more days? He's going to be staying here until the wedding."

"Yeah, I suppose. I just needed to ask him a few things about you," Sakura said.

Hikaru smirked, and relaxed a little. "Oh yeah, like what? What is there that you still need to know about me?"

"Oh, just a few little things. Like, what your favourite thing to eat in the morning is, how you lay in bed, how long you take in the washroom," giggled Sakura.

Hikaru chuckled. "Your such a loser, you know that? Kichirou's number is still the same, so you can 'ask' him whatever you want," he said as he flicked Sakura's forehead.

It was Déjà vu.

"Hikaru, I'm kind of tired, do you mind if I take a little nap? And then maybe later we can do something?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll see you later then," he said as he kissed her forehead. He then walked out and shut the door behind him.

Sakura got her phone and began looking through her contacts. She found Kichirou's number, and before pressing talk, thought about what she was going to say. What if he didn't help her? What if he told her uncle or Hikaru? Then she would be in more danger. But no, she had to believe in the good in Kichirou, and if he really loved her as much as he had said he did that night, then he would never let anything happen to her.

* * *

**Flashback; 1 year ago at the Beach House near the Hirono Kingdom**

"Kichirou, come on, just jump in!" exclaimed Sakura, who was already in the pool.

"But... my hair..." he stuttered.

Sakura swam over to where Kichirou was sitting, causing Hikaru to let go of the hand he had around her waist. She got over to where he was and grabbed his hand. She looked up at his face, and Kichirou looked down at her, getting a glimpse of what was under her two piece swimsuit.

"Stop being such a girl and just come in. Its only fun when everyone is having fun," insisited Sakura as she tugged his hand.

"Fine," he sighed. He slipped into the pool and looked at Sakura. "Happy?"

"Yes actually, I'm very happy," she said with a big smile.

That was what he loved about her the most. Her big, beautiful smile.

He stared into her eyes, and she looked back innocently. Hikaru decided that that was the perfect time to sneak up behind Sakura, and grab her from behind.

"Hikaru!" she screamed.

"Chill babe, I'm just having some fun." He wrapped his arms around her and put his head on her shoulder.

Sakura smiled, and put her hands on Hikaru's arm, which meant letting go of the hand Kichirou was still holding.

Kichirou tensed up, but remained calm. His brother did not know how to treat her right. She was not like the other girls that he hooked up with, she was Sakura. She was a princess, an angel.

"Hey guys! Come inside, dinners ready!" called one of Sakura's friends.

Kichirou got out of the pool first, and then Sakura tried getting out, but Hikaru wouldn't let her go.

"Just stay with me for a bit," he whispered into her ear.

She stopped struggling and sighed. Hikaru always wanted to be alone with her. She saw Kichirou go inside, and he closed the sliding door behind him.

Hikaru turned her around and crashed his lips onto hers. They made out for a few minutes and joined the rest of their friends in the kitchen

The beach house was owned by the Hirono's, and King Hirono had offered them the house for two weeks of the summer. This was their last night.

The group ate their dinner happily, and then decided to have one last campfire down by the beach. Sakura went to her room to go change, and when she came back, everyone was ready to go, and the stars were already out. When she stepped outside, someone grabbed her arm.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Kichirou asked her.

She nodded. "Of course, let's just wait for everyone to leave.

When everyone was out of sight, they began talking.

"Sakura, I- I've never told you how much you mean to me, have I?"

Sakura smiled. "Thats not something you need to tell me silly, I know you hold me really close, just like I do."

"No, I mean, I've never told you how I really feel about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I- I think your amazing, and so perfect. Your like an angel in every way. Your gorgeous, your kind, and your smile can warm anyone up. Your my personal saviour, and I don't know what it would be like not having you in my life. I- I love you, Sakura, and I mean it with all my heart."

Sakura was taken back by his confession. Yeah, he had said i love you to her many times, but she always thought he meant in a brother sister way, and not in a romantic way. "Kichirou... thank you, it means alot, but you should know... I love Hikaru, and I always will. He's your brother, and you know that me and him are going to get married when we're of age so..."

"But I can change that! I've already started talking to my father about it. Sakura, it can be me you spend the rest of your life with, and you know I'll keep you much happier then my little brother ever could. I won't use you and-"

"Kichirou, your not listening to me. I love Hikaru. If I marry you, it wont change the fact that I love Hikaru, and that I always will. I know he has his rough parts, but that doesn't change the way I feel about him. Nothing will. I'm sorry."

Kichirou looked down. "Well, I guess I can't change the way you feel, but you should know now that this wont change the way I feel about you. Nothing could ever change that."

Sakura shook her head. "No Kichirou, your going to find someone some day that you love more than you love me, and that person is going to love you back just as much. You just have to keep looking, because your an a amazing guy, and any girl would be extremely lucky to have you. Now come on, lets go join everyone else," she said.

He nodded and followed her and joined the rest of their friends. Sakura acted like nothing happened, but she never ever forgot that night, and the words that Kichirou had said to her.

**End of Flashback**

**

* * *

**

That night had been about a year ago, and she had seen Kichirou a few times after it. Things hadn't really changed between them, and they still acted like brother and sister when they were together. The truth was that Sakura actually really missed him as a friend, because he was one of the true ones that she had. She used to talk to Kichirou about everything, and he really was like a brother to her. After highschool though, they had drifted a lot because Sakura was always at the palace. At least when she was at school, Kichirou came to see her and they all went out. Now, the distance between the two palaces was too great.

Sakura took a deep breath, and pressed talk. The number dialled and she waited for a reply.

"Hello?" said the soft voice on the other end of the line.

"Hey Kichirou, its Sakura."

"Sakura? Oh wow, its been awhile, finally remembered me?"

"Hey, its not like you've ever called me," laughed Sakura.

"I know, I'm just joking. Anyways, whats up? Why call me when your going to be seeing me in a few days?"

"I needed to talk to you about something, thats very important."

"Okay, talk."

"Well, have you gotten any letters from the Haruno kingdom?"

"Nope, why?"

"Okay, well I'm going to tell you something, but your not going to like it..."

"Sakura, tell me."

Sakura explained everything she had overheard, and that the letter he was supposed to get explained everything, and was the only proof of her uncle's plan.

"Sakura... That's just so..."

"Unbelievable? I know."

"But why would your uncle, or my brother, ever do something like this? Especially my brother. He claims to love you, and he's planning this."

"No Kichirou, I can tell that Hikaru doesn't want to go through with this. Either he's being forced, or my uncle has something on him that could ruin him. But its obvious that he is not okay with any of this."

"Okay Sak, if you say so. So whats your plan? What do you need me to do? Because I will do anything and everything to protect you."

"Whatever the letter tells you to do, do it. Make them believe that your on their side, and when you come here, make sure you bring that letter. Its the only evidence we have, so remember that. That's all I need."

"Okay Sak, but what about after that?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"Sakura..."

"Kichirou, just trust me, somebody else who cares about me a lot is going to protect me, and is also helping. I'll be fine."

"Okay Sakura, you better be. Well, I think I should go now, and remember if you need anything, or if even the littlest thing happens to you before I come, call me okay? I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you Kichirou, I'll keep that in mind. Take care, bye."

"Bye."

Click.

Well, that part of her plan was good. She would have the evidence she needed to bring her uncle down. Now everything was all up to Sasuke.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be the Masquerade Ball =)**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


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